page_title: Hermetia illucens
section_title: Lifecycle
hierarchical_section_title: Hermetia illucens / Lifecycle
caption_attribution_description: English: Black soldier fly depositing eggs in a wormfarm
context_page_description: Hermetia illucens, the black soldier fly, is a common and widespread fly of the family Stratiomyidae.
context_section_description: An adult female lays between 206 and 639 eggs at a time. These eggs are typically deposited in crevices or on surfaces above or adjacent to decaying matter such as manure or compost and hatch in about 4 days. Freshly emerged larvae are 1.0 millimetre (0.04 in), being able to reach a length of 2.5 millimetres (0.1 in) and weight of 0.10 to 0.22 grams (1.5 to 3.4 gr) by the end of larval stage. The larval stage lasts from 18 to 36 days, depending on the food substrates provided to the larvae, of which the postfeeding (prepupal) stage lasts around 7 days. The length of larval stage can be delayed by months due to low temperature or lack of food. The pupal stage lasts from 1 to 2 weeks. Adults can live typically 47 to 73 days when provided with water and food, such as sugar in captivity or nectar in the wild, or survive for about 8 to 10 days on fat reserves gathered during larval stage when water is provided.
caption: Black soldier fly depositing eggs in wormfarm
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