Feeding nymphs?

[tweek888]

Hello,

I'm getting my first ootheca soon and want to culture my own food for them,

I find re-ordering FFF to be a bit rube goldburg like :\

I was thinking Fly larvae, but I'm not sure if a mantis would take them ( S. limbata)

Also, can they be cultured and for what amount of time?/ caresheets?

Thanks for your time!

-Tweek

 

[Rick]

Order you a vial of flightless fruit flies. Then order some medium and get some yeast. Mix the medium with water and add a pinch of yeast in a container of your choice. Throw in a few of the flies you got and soon you will have thousands of flies. Culturing fruit flies is so easy. I get my supplies from www.carolina.com You could even go on there and order their fruit fly culture kit which will come with everything you need.

 

[louie]

are u in the uk or u.s

 

[tweek888]

Thanks Great Info, (standard cooking yeast?)

I head that they will die out eventually(6-8 weeks) from a lack of fresh genes?

and

I'm in the USA

:wink:

 

[lullaby10]

I don't know if you have a petco around you or not, but they started carrying small viles of fruit flies there.

Another good website for FF is www.buyfruitflies.com.

 

[Rick]

They will not die out. The ones I have now I originally got like six months ago. If you need anymore help let me know.

 

[Jesse]

I head that they will die out eventually(6-8 weeks) from a lack of fresh genes?

FF cultures do not die out because of lack of fresh genes, they die out because of declining food quality/quantity, that is why you start new colonies every few weeks with fresh food/substrate. That way you also have a continual supply of fruitflies.

 

[Mantis Keeper]

They may not die out, but after a month or so your "flighless" FF will mutate and start flying around. Happened to me every time so far, once with culture from petco and once from carolina biological supply.

 

[Rick]

That has happened to me too. But the ones I have had now for several months still don't fly.

 

[Mantis Keeper]

Lucky you. I just don't seem to have much luck with the flies.

 

[Geckospot]

I have had some ff cultures for a few months and none are flying yet.

www.Geckospot.com

 

[Mantis Keeper]

I guess it's just me then.

 

[Rick]

I guess it's just me then.

No. Like I said it has happened to me before too.

 

[Mantis Keeper]

I meant in that it happens so quick and every single time.

 

[Geckospot]

Maybe wild fflies are getting into your culture.

 

[lullaby10]

You may have some flightless and ones that are able to fly in the same container. The "flight-abled" flies carry the dominant gene. So if you mix flightless and flight flies together, you will mostly get flight flies with a handful of flightless ones.

 

[Mantis Keeper]

Na, it's sealed, not a chance anything is getting in. I had a good setup, especially with the carolina flies.

 

[lullaby10]

You may have had some flightless that carried the flight gene then mated and you got one that can fly.

 

[tweek888]

Great info!

thanks a lot!