itzjustjeff
Well-known member
Yum..BBQ springtails. What more can a mantis ask for
Bugatorium
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Some hot rum to wash em down!
I have a lot of people ask me what or how I make my cultures and I gave the following answer on another forum and did not want to feel guilty for not giving it to you guys to, they asked so I gave, now you guys don't have to ask. I just give to you. I use McHails sometimes, and sometimes I use just my potato receipe, I am making just an oatmeal one, but it is not done yet, so this is the potato and oatmeal one I usually use. I make about 2 gallons at a time and have tried to scale it down for single uses! I dont know what my secret is! I make them as I said, maybe it is the oats, maybe the vinegar, I really think it is the vinegar, as I remember, over a year ago, I was having trouble keeping the fruit flies going, and of course it could of been maybe them being bred out, dont think that was it though, and I started to think about the cultures with the vinegar, that I used to make, but had stopped, because my husband did not like the smell. Well I started to use it again and walaa! Flies galore. So I think that is it. I use vinegar, mold inhibitor, yeast, brewers yeast, potatoes , oats, powered sugar, and my water and fruit juice or some fruit, and every once in a while I dont have juice or fruit, but the cultures are still the same. Try it, it can't hurt, the smell goes away or I get used to it, but I really don't think they smell. oh yea and some of my yens blend!
1 Cup potato flakes
1 cup oats
1/3 C juice (any)
1/3 C hot water
1 T. powered sugar
4 T. brewers yeast
1 T. white vinegar
1/4 tsp calcium propionate if you have it.
1 tsp. yens blend if you have it (bee pollen)is fine.
few grains regular yeast
Some smashed banana if you have an old one, I throw mine in freezer if getting to soft to eat and take out and thaw for cultures, if making a small culture like this one, cut banana in 4 or 5 pieces and throw in bag in freezer and just use a piece of it. Omit this if you have juice if you like, or add, doesn't hurt a thing! Or use any fruit you have.
Take and add enough water in a microwave safe bowl to just cover the oats, micro on high for just over a minute, then let cool a bit.
Add the smashed banana & vinegar to the water and then the regular yeast and then the sugar, when ready the yeast will bubble and float, make sure you put the yeast in first and the sugar on top of it.
Mix all other dry ingredients in a bowl, adding the juice and water last. Stir it all up, if mix is too dry, add the oats and stir again, if still to dry, add a little warm water a spoon full at a time, not to much, when done you want it to look like stiff mashed potatoes, not stiff enough to build a sand castle
, but stiff!
It should be ready to put in your excelsior or coffee filters and then the flies.
I make 50 or more cultures a week, every week, and after all these years I guess one gets good at it. I beg people to purchase them as I hate to let them die, and there are so many flies that one can only sell and use so much of them. Even with thousand of mantis to feed, I still cannot use all my flies
Which is really a good thing!
1 Cup potato flakes
1 cup oats
1/3 C juice (any)
1/3 C hot water
1 T. powered sugar
4 T. brewers yeast
1 T. white vinegar
1/4 tsp calcium propionate if you have it.
1 tsp. yens blend if you have it (bee pollen)is fine.
few grains regular yeast
Some smashed banana if you have an old one, I throw mine in freezer if getting to soft to eat and take out and thaw for cultures, if making a small culture like this one, cut banana in 4 or 5 pieces and throw in bag in freezer and just use a piece of it. Omit this if you have juice if you like, or add, doesn't hurt a thing! Or use any fruit you have.
Take and add enough water in a microwave safe bowl to just cover the oats, micro on high for just over a minute, then let cool a bit.
Add the smashed banana & vinegar to the water and then the regular yeast and then the sugar, when ready the yeast will bubble and float, make sure you put the yeast in first and the sugar on top of it.
Mix all other dry ingredients in a bowl, adding the juice and water last. Stir it all up, if mix is too dry, add the oats and stir again, if still to dry, add a little warm water a spoon full at a time, not to much, when done you want it to look like stiff mashed potatoes, not stiff enough to build a sand castle
It should be ready to put in your excelsior or coffee filters and then the flies.
I make 50 or more cultures a week, every week, and after all these years I guess one gets good at it. I beg people to purchase them as I hate to let them die, and there are so many flies that one can only sell and use so much of them. Even with thousand of mantis to feed, I still cannot use all my flies
Rebecca, thank you for sharing your recipe! I was doing really well with my own cultures and didn't have to buy fruit flies for 7 months but am finding that I cannot keep up with the demand. Apparently I'm using the flies before they have a chance to reproduce.
Anyway, I tried using banana earlier this year. I liked the way the banana cultures smelled. And I ended up with huge amounts of flies in them compared to the regular cultures. However, I had a problem with the banana breaking down and the culture becoming too runny after about a week. I probably was using 1/4 of a banana per culture. It sounds like that may have been too much.
I'll have to try some oats next time.
Anyway, I tried using banana earlier this year. I liked the way the banana cultures smelled. And I ended up with huge amounts of flies in them compared to the regular cultures. However, I had a problem with the banana breaking down and the culture becoming too runny after about a week. I probably was using 1/4 of a banana per culture. It sounds like that may have been too much.
I'll have to try some oats next time.
I find ffs don't like banana
I use apple without a problem but I don't have thousands of babies lol
I use apple without a problem but I don't have thousands of babies lol
Yea, maybe to much nana, In a 2 gallon bucket I use one or two, so in just a few cultures it would be to much, but and I say BUT, if you mash the banana with a fork and put in with the other liquid to make the desired amount, then it should not cause a problem, so if you r mashing it, thats not why u r getting mush later.
Well A, your fruit flies are missing a little uit maybe in their names, as banana is the fruit of life for any fruit fly, maybe sit them down and tell them grannyma said so!
T. sinensis
Active member
Genius!Another method for hanging mantis who cannot hang! I have some jumping spiders in the Bugatorium and a couple in a short retangle and I took some of her web and slung it around a stick so I could attach my medincas feet to it as she cannot stand, she just molted and was doing poorly, I could not get her to hang and thought I would try this and it is 3rd day and she is eating and looking better.
Thanks! and could I print that to verify it to hubby? :lol:
sueb4653
Well-known member
Just went through this thread Rebecca and all I can say is WOW
wow! thank you for the oats/potato recipe. i used a banana/potato mix for my current mantis this season, and like Tammy said the banana made it super runny after it broke down.
loving this whole thread and your room! @_@
loving this whole thread and your room! @_@
Thanks! opps it is Fuzzy Friday, gotta go!
not a chance! he is here now, making face and laughinh at me!
ok
btw my new popa pair is mating now, maybe i could sell u an ooth or the mated female after she lays an ooth or 2 B)
papas are bred out, You won't get anything.
Extrememantid
Well-known member
Mime454
Well-known member
Some animals and insects will be inbreed so many times, that even though they mate in future generations, they do not have offspring, I find this a lot in mantids, a lot do not agree with me, but this is my opinion and I cannot find any other reason for this. I have talked with professors and they do agree with me that they eventually breed out due to bloodlines being exhausted.
