# Food for flies



## Kruszakus (Dec 11, 2007)

My friends had visited the zoological fair in Hamm, and they brough with them some strange flies, about 6-7 milimeters in size, but with no wings - pretty handy, don't you think? Just about great for mantids above 15 milimeters.

But there is one problem - those flies feed off some kind of paste, but the guy would not tell what the ingredients for it were...

My question to you is - have you ever prepared some kind of sustenance (ofter that honey for the gut-load), that would allow flys (not fruit flies of course) to feed and breed at the same time? You know - we would like to have those flys all the time - who wouldn't?


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## hibiscusmile (Dec 11, 2007)

u have no idea what kind they r? post a pic someone will know, and there is this guy on www.insectchat.com named alex, he finds all kinds of insects, and then there is www.whatsthatbug.com. If u can find out what kind we can find out what to feed it! Also u could send pic to Chuck at www.spiderpharm.com he deals with flies too. Hurry up, I want no fly flies too!


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## Hypoponera (Dec 11, 2007)

I have had good luck feeding all types of flies a mix of powdered sugar and powdered baby formula. This should provide a diet that your flies will do well on. This mix is a dry powder, but can have water added. I usually provide the water as in a seperate container.

What kind of mouth parts does your fly have? This diet will not work on a blood feeding species!


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## darkspeed (Dec 12, 2007)

I use powdered sugar and powdered milk... baby formula is extremely expensive... especially for feeding flies, much less a real baby. I get mine from walmart... it is found in the latin foods section. It is called Nido and is made by Nestle. The reason for this stuff as opposed to other powdered milk is that most powdered milk is powdered skim milk wheras Nido is powdered whole milk. You find it in the spanish foods section cuz many people in mexico do not have refrigerators and thus powdered milk and non spoiling milk is more widely used than in the US, and therefore aimed at hispanic consumers here as well.


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## macro junkie (Dec 12, 2007)

i use bread soaked in pure honey


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## Kruszakus (Dec 12, 2007)

They look like small house flies - but with bright abdomen - just like this one... as I said - about 6-7 milimeters.







The paste was like... well, the problem is, I do not know really what is was - but looked like some mixture of rudimentary products or so...

The German would not say whay did he use for it... damn it! Why do these Germans are such d-bags?


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## macro junkie (Dec 12, 2007)

Kruszakus said:


> They look like small house flies - but with bright abdomen - just like this one... as I said - about 6-7 milimeters.The paste was like... well, the problem is, I do not know really what is was - but looked like some mixture of rudimentary products or so...
> 
> The German would not say whay did he use for it... damn it! Why do these Germans are such d-bags?


its same here.any breeder that sales there fruit flys wont tell u what they use in there mix,its there special mix.  : same with a few photographers i know not telling people how they got the shot or what settings they have..i think there sacred incase we do better..  

whos pic of the fly..did u take that?


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## Kruszakus (Dec 12, 2007)

Well, me and a couple of girls stick together in a way - we share some ideas and stuff, it's the most efficient way of cooperation - everybody is a wiener... I meant a winner, yeah...

The picture was taken from the internet - so no chance of telling you what was the set for it.

Take revenge dude - if you provide us with macro mug shots of mantids giving something like a bad scowl - don't tell these d-bags what was you method, hehehe


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## Hypoponera (Dec 12, 2007)

Based on the mouth parts in the photo, any basic/standard house fly mix should work just fine. I would provide it as a powder and supply water via a sponge.

DARKSPEED: Yes, I know baby formula is expensive. But I have a little guy here who still drinks it. So, as it is already in the house, I use it. Once the baby stops drinking it, I will run to Walmart and hunt down some of that powdered whole milk!


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## darkspeed (Dec 12, 2007)

Heck yeah. My last daughter nearly drank us out of house and home. That stuff is almost as expensive as gold when priced by the ounce.

So you are sure the only difference is coloration and the absence of wings? Maybe we all should look a bit deeper into this subject. We obviously know such a thing exists. Lets all ask around our bug friends and entomology contacts and see if we can pin a name on this mystery fly.


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## Kruszakus (Dec 28, 2007)

They are real, just 6-7 mm long flies with no wings - but the bad thing, is that people who have them just won't let me know the recipe for the nourishment, you may order the flies from them if they manage to breed them, maybe then you'll figure out what could be used a a sustenance for the flies and their larvae.

I had a closer look at the nourishment and it was mostly something I do not know the name for... the dictionary says it called bran or pollard... anyway, the nourishment is like a paste, not gooey it's almost like solid food - it does not let the flies drown or glue them in any way - I still cannot figure out the rest of the ingredients.

By the way - how do you breed blue bottle flies?


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## macro junkie (Dec 28, 2007)

i want to know somthing.if your feeding house flys pure honey and feeding them to your flowermantids why would u want to use hole milk or baby formula..im just wodneirng thats all..im kind of new to this..isnt honey better?


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## Kruszakus (Dec 28, 2007)

We are not talking about gut-loading them. We have been discussing the issue of a sustenance for the flies and their larvae - something that would serve as a base for an entire colony - just like with fruit flies. Flies -&gt; eggs -&gt; larvae -&gt; pupae -&gt; flies gettin' laid - eggs being laid... and so on :lol: 

Honey + pollen is good when you are buying worms at a local store - when the flies emerge from the pupae, you feed them with honey and bee pollen to increase their nutritional value - but they will not lay eggs there... not mentioning the fact that flies bought from the store are mostly infertile.


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## acerbity (Dec 28, 2007)

Do you have any Idea if this is a species that doesn't fly or a purposeful breeding to stunt that development AKA the flightless Drosophilia that will eventually regain flight?

Either way this would be a huge huge boon to mantid breeders!


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## Kruszakus (Dec 29, 2007)

I do not think it will regain the ability to fly unless it grows back its wings - they don't got wings, so they don't got a chance to fly.

Yup - they are quite handy I must say... but we have to wait untill my friends can breed it, then probably during the warmer months of spring they will be able to send you their larvae - but from that poin, you will have to provide them with nourishement of your own, I mean - if you want to have a long lasting colony.


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