So I went to add more kitchen waste to my compost pile and when I turned out the top it's full, like lots, of these grubs. It's good that it's being broken down but are these good or bad bugs???

Soldier fly larvae, good bugs.

Have you read the thread here?
The thread "Black soldier flies" in Soil and Compost forum

There are YouTube videos too

Thank you Sally! I've been reading on soldier flies but until now I've never noticed their existence. Didn't have a garden or compost pile either!

Okay, I'll keep them more wet and start chopping my kitchen waste.

Maybe drink more coffee too! ☕️

Alright! Just made a deal with the market I buy my produce from and after I get them a clean bucket they'll give me what they're throwing out. I think my compost pile just got a lot healthier!!!

That's great, Barrie, I to feeding compost and not 'the dump'

Vegetable scraps are really wet, I doubt you need to worry about keeping things wet enugh for the soldier flies.

I have seen black and golden soldier flies here. They are rare, considering how many hundred of larvae you see. They are shy and flighty too. But sometimes one or two will be perched near the compost.
White feet!
https://www.marylandbiodiversi...

and
https://www.marylandbiodiversi...

I stood out there a minute mixing in yesterday's scraps but they're too flighty. I'll have to look for their feet being white.

I'm also putting lots of raked up grass clippings on there and those are pretty dried out. I'm dumping everything in the middle where it's damp. I added some water earlier and man was it really brown running off. Now I've got the start of a frame going on so it'll be more in a box than a pile of rotting stuff in the yard.

I am transferring last fall's leaves to the garden as mulch, not trying to balance the 'compost', and my kitchen compost is incredibly wet and sludgy. Plus it got rained on. I am not sure if the BSF larvae tolerate total sludge.
Barrie, do you have chickens?

I'd like to. They're about a long minute out.