Black Soldier Flies:
https://texasinsects.tamu.edu/soldier-fly/
Do you know what maggots smell like?
Did you ever put out a big stinky fly trap. I used one this spring/summer. Put it in the back of my yard. It really trapped flies, when the bag was full, I put it in a strong plastic bag and put it in the trash can just before pickup by the trash truck. (next time I will take a shovel and bury it directly)
Most sickening smell imaginable.
I would not feed maggots or flies to any of my pets.
Black soldier fly larvae voraciously EAT the maggots of horseflies, etc., as well as any plant or animal waste, reducing pathogens. If you have them around, they keep an aviary or even a farm really clean. They do not resemble houseful maggots- soldier fly larvae look more like caterpillars.
They do not smell, in fact prevent odors by rapidly consuming any waste or housefly and blowfly or other larvae in waste. They also eat spoiled feed. When they have eaten up all the nasty stuff, they are easy to shovel into tubs and rinse to use for other things or to dispose of by feeding to wildlife. They dry easily, smell good, and are excellent poultry, wild bird food, fish food and an readily available non-slimy bait for fishing.
My chickens would go crazy for them whenever I cleaned out the litter in my parrot aviaries.
But, since they are not a rib eye steak, don’t have the aroma of a and wouldn’t even pass as a french fry or asparagus spear, you will never catch me eating them.