Raising houseflies in 32oz pots.
- Thread starter PhilinYuma
- Start date
Help Support Mantidforum:
superfreak
Well-known member
oh so the animal bedding is used instead of tissue, not instead of dog food. phew, high temps are scrambling my braaains...
PhilinYuma
Well-known member
Probably not. House fly larvae apparently need animal protein, though there is a fair amount of vegetable filler in dog food. Following someone's suggestion, I tried raising a batch using the potato-based substrate that I use for ffs, without success.
mythal
Active member
Does this work with bluebottles too?
I don't know if those are available here locally, so I'd like to try raising a few batches before winter sets.
I don't know if those are available here locally, so I'd like to try raising a few batches before winter sets.
cloud jaguar
Well-known member
Phil do yo have any pictures of the process? I need to start doing this but i cant wrap my head around it without pics
PhilinYuma
Well-known member
PhilinYuma
Well-known member
Not sure how helpful this will be Arkanis. Photojournalism was never one of my occupations.
1) Assume that you have simmered 2 cups of dog food and 2 cups of water in a large pan. The dog food will slowly break down and you can help the process by mashing it with a masher, like the one shown below.
2) When you get tired of doing this, dump the whole mess in a food processor and turn it on (no need to pulse unless you like to).
3) When all the lumps have been smashed, remove the sludge to a large bowl. Immediately clean everything to get rid of the leftover sludge before it petrifies. In front of the food processor is a defrosted bag of the stuff to give you an idea of the consistency. I also left a few splats on the wall behing the processor to show that I'm not kidding around.
The next pic shows a 32 oz pot with a lid which will only be used while the flies in the pot are active and then at the end after the ff maggots have pupated. I have a bung in the lid for adding more flies if necessary or spraying water if the mix looks too dry. The pot contains a small amount of excelsior to give the flies somewhere to rest between bouts of copulation. I should have a massive HF eclosure tomorrow, and shall put about ten in each of six pots. The three in the pic just happened to be in the kitchen and volunteered to help me out. The whiskey in the glass supporting the pot is not for the flies. The medicine vial is one of 16vthat I use for catching bees and HFs.
In the last pic, you see an open bowl which shows the consistency of the medium when the flies are nearly ready to eclose. The pupae are in the medium, and it is important not to let it dry out. This is an even easier method for those who keep their flies in a net cage. Just put a bowl of the medium in the cage and leave it for a few days, then take it out and keep it moist with your mister. Mine becomes contaminated with wild mels, and after they have pupated (and if you do this in your kitchen, you are going to get an Amusing Surprise when they do), it is time to put a cover over the bowl for when the flies eclose in the next few days, or you can shovel it into a few pots like that in pic 1.
I really hope that this helps, though I am not sure how!
1) Assume that you have simmered 2 cups of dog food and 2 cups of water in a large pan. The dog food will slowly break down and you can help the process by mashing it with a masher, like the one shown below.
2) When you get tired of doing this, dump the whole mess in a food processor and turn it on (no need to pulse unless you like to).
3) When all the lumps have been smashed, remove the sludge to a large bowl. Immediately clean everything to get rid of the leftover sludge before it petrifies. In front of the food processor is a defrosted bag of the stuff to give you an idea of the consistency. I also left a few splats on the wall behing the processor to show that I'm not kidding around.
The next pic shows a 32 oz pot with a lid which will only be used while the flies in the pot are active and then at the end after the ff maggots have pupated. I have a bung in the lid for adding more flies if necessary or spraying water if the mix looks too dry. The pot contains a small amount of excelsior to give the flies somewhere to rest between bouts of copulation. I should have a massive HF eclosure tomorrow, and shall put about ten in each of six pots. The three in the pic just happened to be in the kitchen and volunteered to help me out. The whiskey in the glass supporting the pot is not for the flies. The medicine vial is one of 16vthat I use for catching bees and HFs.
In the last pic, you see an open bowl which shows the consistency of the medium when the flies are nearly ready to eclose. The pupae are in the medium, and it is important not to let it dry out. This is an even easier method for those who keep their flies in a net cage. Just put a bowl of the medium in the cage and leave it for a few days, then take it out and keep it moist with your mister. Mine becomes contaminated with wild mels, and after they have pupated (and if you do this in your kitchen, you are going to get an Amusing Surprise when they do), it is time to put a cover over the bowl for when the flies eclose in the next few days, or you can shovel it into a few pots like that in pic 1.
I really hope that this helps, though I am not sure how!
PhilinYuma
Well-known member
Just when you thought that this thread had been put to rest, I have a special announcement. I am going to launch a contest between Carolina Biological and humble
[SIZE=8pt]PhilinYuma[/SIZE]. While going through their on-line catalogue to buy some FF medium, I found "Instant House Fly Medium 1L" for 12.50. Not too bad, I thought, until I saw the final invoice. Unlike the FF medium, this had to be shipped Express, for $16.95 plus another "living material fee" for $2. But that's not all! They add tax, not just on the item itself but on the item plus postage! I wouldn't have noticed this except that I have two invoices. The HF medium costs less than the FF medium, but with Express, the total comes to twice as much and so does the "tax." I called Sam, the customer service guy, and asked him just what the "living material is in the package, and all he could think of was yeast (he said that his CS catalogue did not have the ingredients listed) and we agreed that treating it as "living material" is utter nonsense and he is going "to look into it." Sure. I'll call him again in two weeks when the experiment is over.
My mix costs less than 25c/L, so on price, I am well ahead.
Ease of preparation: The bag contains a simple mix of powder and wood chips. I tasted the powder* which appeared to be powdered milk. Preparing it meant just adding 1L of water, so it was substantially easier and faster than preparing the dog food mix.
Carolina wins round two.
I made up six 32oz cups of this medium, put three in the fly cage and will leave them there for 24 hrs. Then I'll put in three pots of my medium and rotate until I have exposed all twelve jars of the medium. Wish me luck. I'm afraid that I shall keep you informed of their progress.
*If you have said "what a stupid thing to do. He'll kill himself one day," remember that I have done it all my life without a mishap and that I am most likely older than you.
[SIZE=8pt]PhilinYuma[/SIZE]. While going through their on-line catalogue to buy some FF medium, I found "Instant House Fly Medium 1L" for 12.50. Not too bad, I thought, until I saw the final invoice. Unlike the FF medium, this had to be shipped Express, for $16.95 plus another "living material fee" for $2. But that's not all! They add tax, not just on the item itself but on the item plus postage! I wouldn't have noticed this except that I have two invoices. The HF medium costs less than the FF medium, but with Express, the total comes to twice as much and so does the "tax." I called Sam, the customer service guy, and asked him just what the "living material is in the package, and all he could think of was yeast (he said that his CS catalogue did not have the ingredients listed) and we agreed that treating it as "living material" is utter nonsense and he is going "to look into it." Sure. I'll call him again in two weeks when the experiment is over.
My mix costs less than 25c/L, so on price, I am well ahead.
Ease of preparation: The bag contains a simple mix of powder and wood chips. I tasted the powder* which appeared to be powdered milk. Preparing it meant just adding 1L of water, so it was substantially easier and faster than preparing the dog food mix.
Carolina wins round two.
I made up six 32oz cups of this medium, put three in the fly cage and will leave them there for 24 hrs. Then I'll put in three pots of my medium and rotate until I have exposed all twelve jars of the medium. Wish me luck. I'm afraid that I shall keep you informed of their progress.
*If you have said "what a stupid thing to do. He'll kill himself one day," remember that I have done it all my life without a mishap and that I am most likely older than you.
sbugir
Well-known member
Hey PhilinYuma,
I left a pot of dog food mixed with water outside about a week ago... and now it's cover in maggots. Uh, how do i sort the maggots I'm kinda grossed out by the way they move...should i wait till they pupate or sort em out now? Thanks in advance.
I left a pot of dog food mixed with water outside about a week ago... and now it's cover in maggots. Uh, how do i sort the maggots I'm kinda grossed out by the way they move...should i wait till they pupate or sort em out now? Thanks in advance.
PhilinYuma
Well-known member
Good for you!
If the goop is in some kind of bowl, transfer it to 32oz cups. Put in a layer about 2" deep. Then leave the pots outside if weather and spouse permit. In my experience, ff maggots will climb up the side of the pot and pupate, though for some reason, very few eclose. When that happens, cover each pot with as well ventilated a lid as possible. The metal mesh tops that Hibiscusmile sells are better than the cloth covered ones, or you can use plastic screening or whatever comes to hand. Keep the mess moist, but not wet and well ventilated. You should have only a very slight odor. If you smell a strong smell of ammonia (unlikely) turn over the substrate so that the anaerobic bacteria are killed by contact with the air. At about the end of another week, your pots should "explode" with flies, all dedicated to feeding your mantids.
A second method is to put the whole nasty mess in a sieve fine enough to retain the maggots, and keep running water through it (use a garden hose if you can) until only the maggots are left. Put them in one or two 32 oz pots with sawdust or fine wood shavings and keep them moist until they pupate. Then wait for the pupae to eclose. I often sieve the pupae, let them dry on paper towels and then keep them in a sprinkling of flour.
Hope that helps.
If the goop is in some kind of bowl, transfer it to 32oz cups. Put in a layer about 2" deep. Then leave the pots outside if weather and spouse permit. In my experience, ff maggots will climb up the side of the pot and pupate, though for some reason, very few eclose. When that happens, cover each pot with as well ventilated a lid as possible. The metal mesh tops that Hibiscusmile sells are better than the cloth covered ones, or you can use plastic screening or whatever comes to hand. Keep the mess moist, but not wet and well ventilated. You should have only a very slight odor. If you smell a strong smell of ammonia (unlikely) turn over the substrate so that the anaerobic bacteria are killed by contact with the air. At about the end of another week, your pots should "explode" with flies, all dedicated to feeding your mantids.
A second method is to put the whole nasty mess in a sieve fine enough to retain the maggots, and keep running water through it (use a garden hose if you can) until only the maggots are left. Put them in one or two 32 oz pots with sawdust or fine wood shavings and keep them moist until they pupate. Then wait for the pupae to eclose. I often sieve the pupae, let them dry on paper towels and then keep them in a sprinkling of flour.
Hope that helps.
[email protected]
Well-known member
[SIZE=14pt]tax on shiping thats not cool I didn't any one adds tax on out of state orders, isn't just in state when you add tax but then there is I just need to look tax laws again its late for me.[/SIZE]
Last edited by a moderator:
PhilinYuma
Well-known member
Yes, I use a flightless strain of hydei. I use wild mels, though , for two reasons. First, I find that they distribute themselves better over a net cage, and secondly, I can start new cultures just by leaving pots of medium exposed indoors. To prevent contamination of the hydei pots, I have to make them up on the patio in the evening.
And yes, my own housefly medium is soggy dog food with a little yeast on top. I have no idea what Carolina puts in theirs, milk powder, certainly, with protein powder perhaps? I think that their main goal is to ensure that it is not too stinky when used in classroom projects. I shall be interested to see the results when I compare the yield from theirs with that from my medium in a couple of weeks.
superfreak
Well-known member
so would you recommend using milk or simply water for the dog food mixture then? does milk smell very strongly when it goes off?
PhilinYuma
Well-known member
Ah! I wondered about that! No, I haven't, partly because I have never seen a flightless strain of houseflies for sale, but also because without wings, they'd be little different from small roaches. I can't speak for the mantids, but I get a lot of enjoyment from watching a mantis snatch up a fly on the wing. ave you tried them with mantids?
"so would you recommend using milk or simply water for the dog food mixture then? does milk smell very strongly when it goes off?"
I don't use milk powder myself. My mix is just about identical to yours with the addition of a little yeast. I was surprised to find that after thee days, the Catalina pots have a strong ammonia smell, though.
I used to culture flightless house flies. Those suckers sure can run, let me tell you that. My orchid is too lazy to ever snatch anything that actually flies, he prefers to wait until they walk past him. For some bizarre reason, all the house flies would walk to the exact same spot. My orchid noticed this rather quickly and after that sat there most of the day, eating them as they practically walked into his mouth. He would only climb down to drink from the leaves and then up to sleep at night. I later stopped culturing house flies because the stench and because they're filthy little critters. I'll take moths over them any day of the week.
sbugir
Well-known member
Hey Phil,
I decided to go with a different idea when sorting maggots. I made a mesh cube and cut a small hole so i could fit a funnel through it. Then i attached the funnel to the pot where my maggots were, in the mesh cube i put a tray of honey in there. Sure enough, the maggots crawled through the funnel into the cube and have begun to pupate. When they hatch they'll also have a food supply. Idk but it seems to work so far, im just gonna have to see if i can make sure the funnel doesnt get over crowded with maggots crawling through.
I decided to go with a different idea when sorting maggots. I made a mesh cube and cut a small hole so i could fit a funnel through it. Then i attached the funnel to the pot where my maggots were, in the mesh cube i put a tray of honey in there. Sure enough, the maggots crawled through the funnel into the cube and have begun to pupate. When they hatch they'll also have a food supply. Idk but it seems to work so far, im just gonna have to see if i can make sure the funnel doesnt get over crowded with maggots crawling through.
