Bugs & Larvae in My Compost Pile

I went out to turn the compost pile yesterday and saw some larvae that I had seen before while turning garden soil but this time there were so many and they were all alive, writhing and wriggling. I quickly looked to find out what type of larvae these were and whether they were beneficial or not. Here were my results:

What I found were soldier fly larvae. The flies lay their eggs on top of the compost pile and the larvae feed on the nitrogen rich scraps that most kitchen compost has. The larvae helps break down the material into compost even faster than it would on it’s own so they aren’t a danger to the compost pile. The flies won’t invade your personal living space, just don’t keep the pile too close to your house.

The photo to the right is the picture of my compost pile with the larvae. The day I found them there were so many more soldier fly larvae and when I returned the next day to take a picture I could only find a few. I’m guessing the larvae traveled further down into the pile but I am hoping I didn’t disturb them too much.

There are some websites out there that explain how soldier fly larvae are used for bio-composting and vermicomposting. Some people are even calling soldier fly larvae ‘green technology.’ Sort of interesting that the best technology is the technology that humans didn’t invent.

Here is an article about soldier fly larvae and the compost pile from our very own University of Oregon