# Wingless fruit flies died early



## albedoa (Feb 14, 2008)

I bought a container of fruit flies from Petco. The label said that it would produce 300 - 500 flies and last 3 - 5 weeks. However, they were all dead after about 8 days.

When I feed my mantids, I throw the flies into the freezer for five minutes to sedate them. Have I been keeping them in there for too long? Is it possible that the flies were already close to exhaustion when I bought them? I'm not sure what I did wrong, but this might get expensive unless I figure it out soon. Any ideas? Thanks!


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## macro junkie (Feb 14, 2008)

the hole idea of wingless and flightless is there easy to manage,,U dont need to put hem in the freezer..i never do that..there so easy to manage.mayby with the flyer's but the ones u have theres no need..your culture wil be weeks behind now.it may of even killed every thing by freezing it for 5 mins..thats a long time..

what i do is i have ice cream container and a tube..i then take the lid off my culture and tap the flys in the ice cream container..i then tap all the flys in to the corner of the container and scoop them up in to the tube..i then have 100s of flys in the tube with a screw on lid..then i go round feeding each cup with 4 or 5 flys..its that easy..


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## OGIGA (Feb 14, 2008)

I also think 5 minutes is a little too long... and freezing isn't really necessary.

Speaking of these fruit flies, I bought a culture yesterday and I'm using it to start other cultures.


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## macro junkie (Feb 14, 2008)

yer iv just started making my own cultures..no maggots yet but its only been 4 days,.


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## Rick (Feb 14, 2008)

Five minutes is a bit too long. It is best to buy one of those and them make several of your own cultures using those flies.


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## Mantida (Feb 14, 2008)

It may be the refridgerating issue, and it may just be the Petco issue. Petco fruit fly vials aren't the best. The medium gets moldy often - and mold kills off fruit flies. Personally, out of 20 cultures, usually only 5 or so are useful. The rest die before maggots even appear.

Also, sticking them in the fridge to slow them down is not usually necessary. They are pretty easy to subdue, especially since Petco has the foam plug. Makes things a lot more easier to manage than with just a lid.


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## albedoa (Feb 15, 2008)

Thanks a lot for the replies. Regarding the issue of making new cultures from a store-bought one, the kid at Petco said he thought that these flies were engineered to not be able to reproduce in case accidents happen. Has anyone heard of that, or was he full of it?


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## OGIGA (Feb 15, 2008)

albedoa said:


> Thanks a lot for the replies. Regarding the issue of making new cultures from a store-bought one, the kid at Petco said he thought that these flies were engineered to not be able to reproduce in case accidents happen. Has anyone heard of that, or was he full of it?


He's full of it. I have made lots of cultures with PetCo's flies.By the way, the cultures I get at PetCo are usually pretty good. They last at least a month and none of mine ever got moldy. Now, of course, I think everyone should just use those flies to make more cultures instead of buying more.


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## Rick (Feb 15, 2008)

You buy a culture there to start you off. You're wasting money if you buy one from them everytime you need flies. Get a bag of the medium and some 32 oz deli cups and make your own. The ones you make will last longer and produce more flies.

ALso if you purchased flightless fruit flies you don't need to put them in the fridge. Just tap them so they stay at the bottom.


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## albedoa (Feb 15, 2008)

Sweet, thanks for all the help. I am going to buy a culture tonight and immediately attempt to start my own to see if I can do it. It's probably a lot easier than I was thinking.

So just mix the medium, throw in 10 - 20 flies, and wait?


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## Rick (Feb 15, 2008)

albedoa said:


> Sweet, thanks for all the help. I am going to buy a culture tonight and immediately attempt to start my own to see if I can do it. It's probably a lot easier than I was thinking.So just mix the medium, throw in 10 - 20 flies, and wait?


I use the commercially made medium instead of making my own. It has mold inhibitor added in and it doesn't stink. I put in about a half inch and add a pinch of yeast and water and that is it. Once it soaks up the water add flies. It will take a little bit of time before you have flies but you will see maggots within a few days. Making fruit fly cultures is very very easy.


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