My "Flexible Fly Port" with pics

[Psychobunny]

After some thought, and a few escaped flies, I devised this to deliver them into my mantis jars.

First I use a piece of clear plastic tube as a connector and a piece of corrugated flexible plastic tubing

which is hot glued to the fly and mantis jars.

Then, I connect the 2 containers like so:

The flies stupidly wander through the tube, and into the matis jar.

Need to be quick with the foam stopper.

Nymph enjoys a tasty lunch

 

[CoolMantid]

Where did you get the tubing?

 

[happy1892]

I just shake the container until they are slow.

 

[Precarious]

Or just refrigerate the flies for 20 minutes, they become dormant and you can distribute at will.

 

[agent A]

Or just refrigerate the flies for 20 minutes, they become dormant and you can distribute at will.

My mom would KILL me if I put a net cage full of flies in the refrigerator

But our attic is unheated so that would be my best idea

Im still trying to figure out how to make flies last a long time, more flies die in the fly cage than they do in my mantis cages

 

[Precarious]

My mom would KILL me if I put a net cage full of flies in the refrigerator

But our attic is unheated so that would be my best idea

Im still trying to figure out how to make flies last a long time, more flies die in the fly cage than they do in my mantis cages

House flies don't last long no matter what, but blue bottle can be kept alive for over a month - REFRIGERATED. If you can't make use of a refrigerator you're going to waste a ton of money on pupae (and shipping... mostly shipping). Maybe do some convincing you need a small office fridge for drinks and bugs?

General info for everyone:

I buy maggots 1,000 at a time from Grubco.com. Comes out to about 20 shipped. Maggots last up to 2 months refrigerated. Pupae last less than 2 weeks.

I leave about 250 out to pupate (usually withing 24 hours) in a shoebox sized enclosure with a screen lid. Then its 8-10 days before they hatch.

Once they hatch allow them to feed a few days. I keep water crystals and fly food in there. Sprinkle some fresh food each day.

Then I keep them refrigerated. Put the whole container in the fridge. That way they are always docile and ready to go. They last a very long time that way. If your going to keep them over a long period give them a day out of the fridge to eat and drink about once a week.

I take the next batch of maggots out to pupate once the first batch starts to hatch. That's the timing that works for me. May be different for you depending on how many you hatch vs how many you go through in 10-12 days.

 

[agent A]

How long do adult flies last in the fridge? Keep in mind at the moment I probably only need a few hundred flies per month, very good idea though

How big of a container do I keep the flies in?

Thanx

 

[sporeworld]

Nice.

Precarious is right-on with his fly procedure. still, that's pretty nifty.

You'll find they load into the container even faster if you have a light source, like a lamp, to draw them in.

Nice work.

 

[Rick]

Four minutes in the freezer is perfect for fresh bb flies. Pick em out with long tweezers. I like your idea, but you might still get an escape.

 

[Psychobunny]

I just love to tinker and build stuff! LOL it's in my nature.

I love building their homes too

I also use the "fridge stun" trick, but this is so much more fun, and I have never (knock on wood) had one escape.

The clear, non-reinforced flexible tubing is hard to find. This was actualy the breathing tube of a repirator made by 3M

and the part can be found for sale on the internet. It is part V-115 for powered respirators and is about $30.00, but will

make a lot of jars since only a few inches is used.

 

[dragon]

Clever idea!