Small scale fruit fly culturing

[eak]

Does anyone know where to get small (8oz?) sized vented lid culturing cups? My starter culture came in such a cup, but I have only been able to find the big 32oz cups for making new cultures.

I only have one mantis so using 32oz cups is really wasteful, plus it's much, much harder to transfer the flies without them getting loose, and, well, my cup runneth over.

Thank you in advance!

Photo of what I'm talking about...

 

[SpaceWolf]

Can't you just take the vent from the big lid, cut a piece out big enough for the smaller lid and put it on there?

 

[eak]

Can't you just take the vent from the big lid, cut a piece out big enough for the smaller lid and put it on there?

It's some sort of paper that's glued in place and gets really yucky from the fly media. I was hoping to be able to just do a bulk order of prepunched lids and cups, but I haven't had luck finding a seller of anything but the 32oz size.

 

[SpaceWolf]

awh that sucks, I don't use any of those cups so sorry I can't help you :/

 

[Kermit]

https://www.tsksupply.com/

 

[Serle]

Check out the restaurant supply stores , those 32 oz. lids fit every  thing down to 6 oz. .........  S

 

[eak]

Check out the restaurant supply stores , those 32 oz. lids fit every  thing down to 6 oz. .........  S

Part of my problem is the width of the opening. The flies escape all over the place. Thanks, though.

 

[Sarah K]

This is where we get them from. I think maybe you bought your small fruit fly culture from me? We manually punch the holes in the lids ourselves though, they don't come pre-punched. 

https://www.webstaurantstore.com/choice-7-oz-clear-pet-plastic-cold-cup-case/500CC7.html 

Also, to prevent fly escapees, put the culture in the fridge for 3-5 minutes before feeding your mantids...they will be still until they "wake up" from the warmer temperatures again. It usually takes them less than a minute to wake up again, but it is usually just enough time to get them in the mantis enclosure safely, without escapees!

 

[eak]

This is where we get them from. I think maybe you bought your small fruit fly culture from me? We manually punch the holes in the lids ourselves though, they don't come pre-punched. 

https://www.webstaurantstore.com/choice-7-oz-clear-pet-plastic-cold-cup-case/500CC7.html 

Also, to prevent fly escapees, put the culture in the fridge for 3-5 minutes before feeding your mantids...they will be still until they "wake up" from the warmer temperatures again. It usually takes them less than a minute to wake up again, but it is usually just enough time to get them in the mantis enclosure safely, without escapees!

Yes, I did.

Thanks for the link. I think I'll try my local grocery store for something like this as 1000 cups is a few too many.

There's a no bugs rule on our refrigerator, so I can't really use that trick. I didn't have much trouble with them getting loose from that smaller cup anyway. 

In case someone stumbles across this thread with a similar problem, here's something else I found recently that might work. It's a spice shaker with a screen over the vents. I might order these.

https://superiorshippingsupplies.com/product/fruit-fly-bottle-no-label-12-lot-2-00-ea/

Thanks, everyone.

 

[Teamonger]

I am not a fan of the those paper lids for the same reason you have stated. They get gross really fast and when you try to wash them they tend to rip leaving them useless. I took to cutting the tops out of normal lids of various sized containers and using my trusty glue gun to clue shear ribbon on the tops. I have never had a fruit fly escape and they stand up to vigorous washing without a problem. I have been using and reusing mine for about a year now with no issues.

You can see the tiny lids spilling out of the cup on the right. In this case the ribbon was Halloween themed ribbon from the dollar store. I have used a variety of colors and patterns just to make it more interesting.

 

[Sarah K]

@Teamonger: VERY COOL IDEA!

 

[Teamonger]

Oh also take a look at this thread for ideas of how to limit fruit fly escape without the need to resort to smaller culture cups. My thread is FULL of broken pictures but CosbyArt's is where you want to look anyway.