# Casters !!! ( AKA Fly Pupae )



## 13ollox (Jul 7, 2006)

got some casters today . and i want to hatch some . what should i do them ?

Neil


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## julian camilo (Jul 7, 2006)

just keep them in a cup or container at room temperature. they should do fine. they seem to do less fine if you put them on or near a heat source. thisdoesnt really make them hatch out any quicker. oh, one of the primary reason for them not hatching probably, i have found, seems to be them being too dry, and they cant emerge fully and die. ive found keeping the container slightly humid helps them alot. so yeh, a bit of humidty, but room temperature (no extra heat) and they should do fine. if your container has a mesh top of some kind, you should put some honey (or honey soaked bread) on top of the mesh so they can feed. or if the container is solid, then maybe as you see one or two hatching, place a bit of honey soaked bread in there with them so they can eat a bit. this will make them more nutritious for the mantids or whatever you plan to feed them to (i imagine. i have no proof).

edit: you can also see how developed they are by how dark they are. also, when theyre very close to hatching, they are very dark and one end of the caster has one or two slight bulges. this is head of the fly, and this is the end it emerges from. seeing them emerge grosses me out, but what they do is their head inflates and deflates, in a kind of pulsating motion. they perform this kind of pulsating motion until they are free of the pupa. as soon as they come out they look really big and light-coloured, but as they harden, they decrease in size a little and darken, and their wings expand. im not sure why i added all this, i just thought a bit of extra info would be useful. also, its best to wait a day or two after theyve hatched/started feeding before feeding them on to your mantids.


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## Rick (Jul 7, 2006)

I just take out the amount I want and put them in a deli cup. About a week later I have flies. I don't do anything special. Just keep them at room temperature.


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