# Fruit flies



## bugzilla (Mar 28, 2008)

How do I get them out of their container without them going everywhere?

I've been using a small paintbrush and getting them to crawl onto this, OK for small quantities but a nightmare when I com to need more  

Help!!!!

Huw


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## bjorsa (Mar 28, 2008)

bugzilla said:


> How do I get them out of their container without them going everywhere?I've been using a small paintbrush and getting them to crawl onto this, OK for small quantities but a nightmare when I com to need more
> 
> Help!!!!
> 
> Huw


Cool them down in the refrigerator then you got a half minute to transfer them to a new container and cool them down and then feed them to your insects

I use a funnel and a hole in the top of the jar that I plug with earplug  And I find it easy to use

Kindly bjorsa


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## macro junkie (Mar 28, 2008)

only use wingless and flightless..u dont have to cool them down then..i open my tub..tap say 50-100 in to a bigger tub..i then quickly put the lid on the fruit fly culture then i put it down pick up the bigger tub and tap it so the flys dont craw out..i then tap them all in to the corner of the tub..i then have a tube with a lid..i scoop them up in to the tube them put the lid on..no escapes..and i have a big tube full of flys,i then go around opening each cup[ and tap a few in each cup..if i was using normal fruit flys this would be a nightmare!..i get my flightless cultures from here http://www.livefoodsdirect.co.uk/products.asp?dept=1009


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## bugzilla (Mar 28, 2008)

Thanks for that.

I got my flightless cultures this week (E-bay store?)

They came with a load of culture medium and tissue with 50 or so adult flies but no larvae that I can see. Will it take long to multiply?


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## Malnra (Mar 28, 2008)

bugzilla said:


> Thanks for that.I got my flightless cultures this week (E-bay store?)
> 
> They came with a load of culture medium and tissue with 50 or so adult flies but no larvae that I can see. Will it take long to multiply?


within a week you should probably see some lil crawlies .... You need to try to keep a dozen adults in there all the time. Eventually you can get a boatload of them .... 3 - 5 weeks would be a guess for you, not knowing how many you can hold onto from the origional batch and temps and such ...

IF you have enough, make your own culture and toss a dozen into it. Let that one build for a couple weeks. There is a topic on how to make the culture, i did not put everything that is listed in mine and i added a couple things .... but the general idea is there on how to make your own with instant potato mix as the base.


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## Rick (Mar 28, 2008)

If they are flightless you do not need to cool them down. I rear them in 32 oz deli cups with a hole cut in the side. The hole is plugged with a foam stopper. I use a small funnel that I put into the mantid enclosure and tap the flies from the container into the funnel.

In the pic below you can see the funnel stuck into the mantid enclosure. Substitute the small fruit fly vial in the pic for the larger deli cup.


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## bugzilla (Mar 29, 2008)

Geoff_K said:


> within a week you should probably see some lil crawlies .... You need to try to keep a dozen adults in there all the time. Eventually you can get a boatload of them .... 3 - 5 weeks would be a guess for you, not knowing how many you can hold onto from the origional batch and temps and such ...IF you have enough, make your own culture and toss a dozen into it. Let that one build for a couple weeks. There is a topic on how to make the culture, i did not put everything that is listed in mine and i added a couple things .... but the general idea is there on how to make your own with instant potato mix as the base.


Thanks. I'll give this a go.

My mantids are turning from a cheap alternative to the fish to costing a fortune atm (can't resist buying more  )



Rick said:


> If they are flightless you do not need to cool them down. I rear them in 32 oz deli cups with a hole cut in the side. The hole is plugged with a foam stopper. I use a small funnel that I put into the mantid enclosure and tap the flies from the container into the funnel. In the pic below you can see the funnel stuck into the mantid enclosure. Substitute the small fruit fly vial in the pic for the larger deli cup.


Simple but ingenious. I've started to use pint beakers as housing with mesh banded to the top and have been finding this to be a right pain. All I need is a plugged hole in the side and this will be sorted:wacko:


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## Rick (Mar 29, 2008)

bugzilla said:


> Thanks. I'll give this a go.My mantids are turning from a cheap alternative to the fish to costing a fortune atm (can't resist buying more  )
> 
> Simple but ingenious. I've started to use pint beakers as housing with mesh banded to the top and have been finding this to be a right pain. All I need is a plugged hole in the side and this will be sorted:wacko:


Yep. People tend to overcomplicate this hobby.


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## Malnra (Mar 29, 2008)

I use the lids from mantis place that have the foam stopper in the top to feed my mantis .. the side works also, but from the top it is a straigh fall into the container ;-)

Whatever works for the person works for the mantis's, so pick your way.

For the large critter keepers that have multi mantis in them I put fly pupae in a small cup that i cut down to size in the bottom and a small cup of bread/water/honey in another. This way they can get to food when they hatch and i dont have to feed daily.

YES i know, before someone speaks up, keeping the flys seperate allows me to load them with honey, but hey ... i figure the mantis wont eat them ALL before they feed, so eventually they get honey loaded ones. ;-)


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## OGIGA (Mar 30, 2008)

Hmm, I'm not sure what your container looks like. My fly feeding experience is really easy because of the way I grow them. I grow them inside water bottles so it's almost like it has a built-in funnel. But I usually use a funnel anyway. No need for me to go to the refrigerator!


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