Fruit fly help !

[*RYAN*]

So i was wondering some things about the small cheap cultures they sell at the pet store .... how long will the culture last by it self in its little container .... and how long does it take a fruit fly to go from a egg to a fly ?! thank you !

 

[Rick]

Not sure about the one's you buy in the pet stores since they don't sell them around here but the small vials I use last a few weeks. But you can take the flies you buy there and turn them into thousands by buying some vials and some medium to breed them yourself. It's very easy.

 

[*RYAN*]

Thank you .... in general how much do the vials and medium sell for and where do you buy them from ?

 

[Rick]

They are not too expensive. I get all fruit fly supplies from www.carolina.com

 

[*RYAN*]

Thank you ! They wont stand a chance :twisted:

 

[Rick]

No problem. I get the actual flies from wormman or fruitflies.net I order them every few months because after awhile the flightless ones start regaining the ability to fly.

 

[garbonzo13]

Ah ha, I thought thats what was happening to my fruit flies Rick. And I have only had 2nd generation hatch. I thought it was my imagination they were starting to fly. LOL

 

[Rick]

Yeah they do. Sometimes it takes six months and sometimes it's only a few weeks before they start flying again.

 

[Leah]

If you buy another culture (before they have begun to fly again) and combine the two to make a new one, you wont have this problem 99% of the time.

 

[yen_saw]

That is true if you buy a new culture from the same place and with similar species (wingless vs wingless, flightless/flightless but winged, etc). I have tried mixing new culture of D. Melanogaster with the old culture from another shop and the following generation all fly pretty well!!