So...how do I start breeding blue bottle flies?

[patrickfraser]

I spent a year in Korea. I'm used to bad smells. This is "not so bad" compared to other scents that have assaulted my olfactories through the years. :lol: I believe it has to do with sensory perception. I now associate the "bad" smell with "good" results and the smell doesn't seem to be of much affect.

 

[angelofdeathzz]

Duly noted, but have you ever left it outside or would the heat kill them(eggs/maggots) if left in some shade?

 

[patrickfraser]

I definitely keep them outside. I have a shed that I keep them in. I leave the doors open, as if they were closed it would become an oven in there and kill them.

 

[dlemmings]

I have sloppy teenagers and come sunday when we pull out the trash bin I often come accross maggots crawling from under trash bin...I collect them and put them in a container to pupate, then fridge some and let the others eclose...gives a nice mix of smaller housefly and medium green bottles. I dont seem to get blue bottles this way but have a steady supply of BB since I buy spikes which keep well in the fridge.

there are plenty of threads on this subject and a number of members have provided nice pics and tips...patrickfrazer in particular is always helpful and has been providing the same rearing advise for the year I have been doing this so he must have it about dialed in...do what he says and I'm sure there will be success!

 

[garin33]

Patrick, excellent photos and great information regarding harvesting blue bottle flys.

Sorry if this is a dumb question but I'm a newbie.

Instead of going through alot of trouble collecting flys and the smell, etc., couldn't you just feed the mantids mealworms? Or do flys provide a nutritional benefit that mealworms don't. There has been alot of discussion about flys on this forum so I am assuming there are certain positives that feeding flys to mantids have over other foods.

Thank you for any information.

 

[patrickfraser]

Patrick, excellent photos and great information regarding harvesting blue bottle flys.

Sorry if this is a dumb question but I'm a newbie.

Instead of going through alot of trouble collecting flys and the smell, etc., couldn't you just feed the mantids mealworms? Or do flys provide a nutritional benefit that mealworms don't. There has been alot of discussion about flys on this forum so I am assuming there are certain positives that feeding flys to mantids have over other foods.

Thank you for any information.

Sure they can eat mealworms. My reasoning for doing this is COST. I can't remember the last time I purchased feeders. I am cheap and hate to spend money. When you figure in shipping costs it gets expensive over time. I am saving tons of money, because I have A LOT of hungry mouths to feed.

This is my latest batch from last night. I took 2 pictures. The second pic shows them dispersing due to the flash. They like it dark. I got a BIG batch brewing.

 

[garin33]

I can definitely understand your point regarding cost, it can really start to add up.

Wow, that is an amazing amount of larvae from one batch! So after the flys lay their eggs and the larvae hatch, you put the cover on the deli cup or whatever you are using and wait for the flys to pupate. How long does it take approximately for the whole process? (Putting out the dog food out and eventually the flys hatching)

Another newbie question. I have never fed flies to mantids before, just fruit flys so far since they are nymphs. Is it difficult to get a few flies from your fly container into each individual mantis container? I would assume that the flys would immediately start to fly out when you opened their container. Just wondering if there is a trick to it.

Thanks again, some great closeups.

 

[patrickfraser]

The "mags" were in something like the size of a medium sour cream container. I have dumped them into a large 10 gallon bucket, added more dog food, and put them into a large trashcan with corn meal at the bottom. They grow pretty quick with the warm weather we've been having. I have never tracked the actual time it takes. I just make sure that I have all stages working. I am currently on my last batch of flies with no pupae. My dad closed the shed on my last batch brewing and killed them with the heat. ARGH! Now I'm playing catch up, but hopefully I won't be too long without flies. Oh well, that's why I have dubias, hissers, and silkworms. Always something to eat. Also in a pinch, when out of flies, I can feed mags if I have to. The praying mantis like them, too. When put into their cup, if they don't go for them, I will spritz with water and the mags will climb the inside of the cup and get snagged.

 

[patrickfraser]

WHOAH! Check out my bucket from today!

 

[aNisip]

Quick question, I did this once but when I tried to collect the pupae, they never hatched...any tips on how to get them to eclose successfully and then hatch? .....and nice 5 gallong bucket there are probably at least a thousand mags...

 

[patrickfraser]

I will collect the mags before they pupate, as they last longer in the fridge. I take out a batch of mags and will leave them at room temp until they pupate. I then let them sit out until I see the first fly or two pop out. Then it's back in the fridge until I need them. Then I just take them out and they hatch very quickly. They pupate at different rates and they will hatch accordingly. But usually 1 batch will all hatch within a week. The only problem I've had with pupae not hatching was when I had an invasion of parasitic wasps that must have laid eggs in the pupae. Each affected pupae hatched out like 5 or 6 tiny wasps of some sort. I din't feel like messing with them and didn't want to get any more of them, so I microwaved them. That'll teach them to mess with my production. :lol:

 

[Paradoxica]

So is there no way to make a medium that doesn't use meat? I thought I heard something about yeast and dried dog treats? Anyone tried this?

 

[patrickfraser]

I used to use the dry dog food moistened with water, but I find this works a lot better and produces way more.

 

[garin33]

Wow, that is one amazing pile of maggots! That's incredible. How long have you been collecting them?

 

[Paradoxica]

I used to use the dry dog food moistened with water, but I find this works a lot better and produces way more.

How was the odor with the dry food? I don't have a backyard to keep it in so I would gladly trade productivity for a less foul aroma.

 

[patrickfraser]

It wasn't something I kept indoors, but the odor was less than my current regimen.

 

[Paradoxica]

I was thinking on my patio but it's right next to my window so I don't want anything too bad. U just used dry food and water?

 

[nebrakacinese]

So how do you know when the spikes are big enough?I think i'll wait awhile before I cook dinner!!!!!

 

[patrickfraser]

The spikes will leave the medium and climb the side of the bucket. When they get to the top, they fall out into a trashcan with corn meal at the bottom. The corn meal wicks them dry. They usually do this in the cool of the night. In the morning I sift out as much corn meal as I can, put most of the maggots in the fridge for keeping, and keep out a batch for pupating. The sifted corn meal just gets reused and thrown back into the trashcan. It looks like they might be making the exodus tonight.

Here's a pic. You can see that they are pretty big now and also starting to climbi the bucket.

 

[angelofdeathzz]

Looks like mouth popping gush-a-licous bowl of beans and rice. :chef:

But seriously you made it seem very simple, thanks man!