Drosophilia hyde (fruit flys)

I got my culture today and it was literally ALL maggots no flys what so ever. How long will it take for some to hatch so I can move them on to another culture?
 
they will hatch, no worries. Leave it at room temperature. Flies probably died in the medium while being shipped
 
I bought my vial at petsmart. They were all maggots, 3 days later,t hey were all cocoons and within 3 days form that, I had some fruit flies hatch. The only thing is, they say you can keep breeding them but they run outta food. so I just always go buy a new one, shrug. Good luck! I love that they dont fly but they freak me out when I try to shake em out and the jump on my hands!
 
Any of these.

containers.jpg


Or junkier.....or more disposable, such as deli cups, gladware......or sturdier like mason jars, mayonaise jars, etc.

You can use anything.......choices are endless.

Kevin

Is there a hole in one? Do you keep live int here and it doesnt get out?

Im easily confused. I has someone keep fruit fly cultures for sugar gliders and it smelled terrible!!
 
They all have holes in the top. The round one is a commercial cup with 24 holes in the lid and a paper filter material glued to it.

The one with a blue rim actually has the whole middle of the lid removed leaving only the rubber rim. That rim is then snapped down on top of bridal veil to keep the flies contained.

The square one with a tan top has a small square hole cut in the top. The top is snapped onto the container with a piece of coffee filter or bridal veil trapped between the two.

Not really sure about the last line:
" I has someone keep fruit fly cultures for sugar gliders and it smelled terrible!! "

If you mean to ask if all FF cultures smell bad then my answer is ? :confused: ? . I'm not sure. I know the recipe I use has a vinegar smell but it's not over powering.......you could probably add more water than vinegar to give it less smell but then you might have a mold problem.

Kevin
 
Im not sure what I was saying.:) I guess just that her cultures that were growing tended to smell funky so I opted just to buy the vials premade.
Are there any larger flightless fruit flies? One i put them in the cage,t hey seem to get lost and now sure where they go...
 
Suppose none have hatched within a week or two and the medium goes bad what should I do? The maggots burry themselves in the medium:|
 
Hydei are the largest.
All my new born panthers are kept in containers with bridal veil tops so I can feed the FF's without escape.
Melanogaster are much smaller and can even escape bridal veil so I don't bother keeping them anymore.

The medium shouldn't go bad too quickly......if anything it might dry out. Try not to let too much air get to it.

Kevin
 
Haha.. Dont open the container outside of a closed cage..:)
Mine are in a vial with a sponge piece on top. I just take the sponge piece out and shake into the cup Im feeding or onto a leaf near the frogs.. they do crawl on my hand which totally creeps me out since I saw them in maggot form. They bury themselves in the medium because they are eating it.. In my experience, the ones that bury themselves and dont come back up to change, dont survive..:( Also, be careful about temp. I accidentally left mine on ligh and it uhm, cooked the worms...It does say the warmer you keep them temps, the faster they breed and change, and colder temps slow it down..well apparently, mine was too warm. LOL! I know the Ben loves when she can find them..
They dont fit through the mesh, they just disappear.t hey can crawl out of the cup and poof, into a big 200 gallon cage they go!

My question.. once the blue goo (medium) is gone..can I mix more and just keep reusing the vial or should I completely change it out? Spending 5.69 a pop per vial at Petsmart just aint feasible.
 
I was thinking of cutting up some old socks like the silky ones not the thick woolie ones and using that instead of mesh etc and just hold it down with a rubber band
 
I use panty hose..........:mad:...........For the FF's :rolleyes:

Betty,
You'll need to clean the vials between uses.

Everyone,
If you want to slow them down put them in the frig for a minute before you feed.......it can buy you a few extra seconds of crawl time. :)

Kevin
 
I raise them in smaller containers thus have fewer to manage come feeding time. If you bang the container down they will fall to the bottom. Flies tend to move upwards, so keep the container on a sligth angle (if your medium is really wet this may not work well). Shake out how many you need, replace lid. You can also put flies in the fridge for a minute to slow them down.
 
Will do. So when I put flies in the new containers. How long til they breed and lay eggs etc?
 
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