PhilinYuma
Well-known member
I've got to tread a bit cautiously on this one. I used to think that the absurd concoctions that so many people come up with, more ingredients than I use in a three course meal, were due to Americans' firm conviction that food = love, but Mija uses even more ingredients, vinegar molasses and rotting bananas in addition to the those mentioned above. I've probably forgotten a few. O.K., Mija, if it works for you, it's got to be fine. But for everyone else, you have to be out of your minds!
As I've said before, I like the Carolina prepared mix, partly because it is simple and partly because the instructions begin: "Dump equal volumes..." Use that, a little yeast (they supply a package) and a thin slice of apple as a bacterial substrate, and you're set.
Reading through this thread, I was struck by the fact, Asylum 23, that "after about 9 days, 5 of the 6 cultures have maggots laid in them."
Did you start off with five flies? If not, then your culture is way, way late or your ambient temperature is way too low. Recently I have been trying a culture medium that I discovered by accident when I was making something else. I semi-crushed a cup of dog food pellets, added two cups of boiling water, and left the soggy mass outside in a bowl covered with cling wrap to cool. And forgot it. Two days later it was cool, moldy and smelled like a brewery, and willd ff's were lined up by batallion, trying to get at it. I keep a small but thriving culture of wild ffs in my kitchen, so I scooped out some of this gunk, put it in a 32oz pot and added a little white wine to attract the flies. I also added a small slice of apple and the usual few grains of yeast, though that was probably redundant. I left it out overnight so the flies could enter the pot, and in the mormning, tossed in a little excelsior and closed the lid and dated it 040109. Right now (040309), the ffs are flying around, having sex and smiling a lot, and I have maggots already climbing up the side of the pot. How much easier, cheaper and effective than that can you get? Huh?
O.K. its's a bit subjective and I'm going to be seriously busy this weekend in the bug room. Next week, I'll set up six cultures, two with the Carolina mix, two with the masa harina concoctoion described in this thread and two with the "funky dog food special." I'll introduse 50 newly purchased wingless mels into each pot (any idea how much work that involves?) and set up six more identical pots, with the addition of vinegar as Christian has suggested, for an equal number of hydei. After the F2 generation ecloses, I'll stun the flies (probably end up killing most of them) and do a body count. And I just hope, Peter, that I get a Special Prize for this! :lol:
As I've said before, I like the Carolina prepared mix, partly because it is simple and partly because the instructions begin: "Dump equal volumes..." Use that, a little yeast (they supply a package) and a thin slice of apple as a bacterial substrate, and you're set.
Reading through this thread, I was struck by the fact, Asylum 23, that "after about 9 days, 5 of the 6 cultures have maggots laid in them."
Did you start off with five flies? If not, then your culture is way, way late or your ambient temperature is way too low. Recently I have been trying a culture medium that I discovered by accident when I was making something else. I semi-crushed a cup of dog food pellets, added two cups of boiling water, and left the soggy mass outside in a bowl covered with cling wrap to cool. And forgot it. Two days later it was cool, moldy and smelled like a brewery, and willd ff's were lined up by batallion, trying to get at it. I keep a small but thriving culture of wild ffs in my kitchen, so I scooped out some of this gunk, put it in a 32oz pot and added a little white wine to attract the flies. I also added a small slice of apple and the usual few grains of yeast, though that was probably redundant. I left it out overnight so the flies could enter the pot, and in the mormning, tossed in a little excelsior and closed the lid and dated it 040109. Right now (040309), the ffs are flying around, having sex and smiling a lot, and I have maggots already climbing up the side of the pot. How much easier, cheaper and effective than that can you get? Huh?
O.K. its's a bit subjective and I'm going to be seriously busy this weekend in the bug room. Next week, I'll set up six cultures, two with the Carolina mix, two with the masa harina concoctoion described in this thread and two with the "funky dog food special." I'll introduse 50 newly purchased wingless mels into each pot (any idea how much work that involves?) and set up six more identical pots, with the addition of vinegar as Christian has suggested, for an equal number of hydei. After the F2 generation ecloses, I'll stun the flies (probably end up killing most of them) and do a body count. And I just hope, Peter, that I get a Special Prize for this! :lol:
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