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

[Malakyoma]

I'm not positive but I also heard that something about the nutritional ratios within flying insects is different, like they need more protein or fat or something to actually be able to fly, and that is why some mantids will become infertile without a flying insect diet, not enough of a certain nutritional element. Correct me if I'm wrong though.

 

[petoly]

I just discovered a medium that's odorless (well is smells lightly like hay) and should be an excellent gutload for mantises...GUINEA PIG POOP!

Granted this requires you knowing someone who has guinea pigs or owning guinea pigs, but this way you can control what the maggots are eating. a) guinea pigs are always eatting pollen rich hay and B) whatever fresh greens and fruit you give them. just don't feed them carrots very often if you intend to use their droppings as medium. I just mix it with a bit of water for moisture. You can also use guinea pig urine but that makes it a little stinky.

Advantage of this also is it's pretty darn odorless, so in the winter months you can still culture flies if you have to keep them indoors. without the smell of course =) and it's free...well for me it is. And if you own a guinea pig, just train it to use a litter box, they can be trained.

 

[twolfe]

you know, I used to hate just the sight of maggots. let alone how they move. Now they don't even phase me lol.

Me too! When I was a kid, we had pet rabbits that we kept in cages outdoors. They would often poop in the corner of the hutch, and if we didn't clean it out in a timely manner, we would find maggots. I hated them. Back then I never would have imagined that some day I'd be handling them! The squirming used to creep me out, but now I see it and think success!

I just discovered a medium that's odorless (well is smells lightly like hay) and should be an excellent gutload for mantises...GUINEA PIG POOP!

Granted this requires you knowing someone who has guinea pigs or owning guinea pigs, but this way you can control what the maggots are eating. a) guinea pigs are always eatting pollen rich hay and B) whatever fresh greens and fruit you give them. just don't feed them carrots very often if you intend to use their droppings as medium. I just mix it with a bit of water for moisture. You can also use guinea pig urine but that makes it a little stinky.

Advantage of this also is it's pretty darn odorless, so in the winter months you can still culture flies if you have to keep them indoors. without the smell of course =) and it's free...well for me it is. And if you own a guinea pig, just train it to use a litter box, they can be trained.

Nowadays my rabbits live indoors and use a litter box. Their droppings are probably similar to guinea pigs, but I'm curious what is wrong with feeding them carrots. My rabbits occasionally get baby carrots as treats, but they aren't a regular part of their diet which consists of hay, pellets and lettuce.I do raise some of my own bb flies to reduce the frequency of ordering flies, but I can go through 200 of them some days... I have had some success with using dog food as a medium, but I have to add milk to it. Once it sours, they usually lay eggs. Lately I've been having trouble with mold in my bb cultures, and boy do they stink. I have to keep them in a bathroom that is only used by guests. So, if any of you ever want to visit, be sure to give me some advanced notice so I can get rid of the flies and smell!

 

[shane]

can i just use fruitfly medium??? i dont like the idea of smell and touching the maggots... i have a big culture of meal worms that i had for 2 years now... can i feed my mantids meal worm beetles? they make some kind of smell

 

[twolfe]

can i feed my mantids meal worm beetles? they make some kind of smell

Shane, I do feed mine mealworms, but it's not the majority part of their diet. I feed them to my female breeders now and then and use them as emergency food. You should do a search though in the food and feeding section to get other breeders' opinions.

 

[petoly]

Their droppings are probably similar to guinea pigs, but I'm curious what is wrong with feeding them carrots. My rabbits occasionally get baby carrots as treats, but they aren't a regular part of their diet which consists of hay, pellets and lettuce.

because of the whole carrots are poisonous to mantids thing. Just in case. I'm sure there wouldn't be enough to kill a mantis through all the regurgitation before the mantis actually gets to the fly, but just in case lol.

 

[hibiscusmile]

So the dog food is the wet canned stuff? and they lay eggs and maggots eat the dog food, then crawl out into cornmeal to pupae? I have some medium from my fly breeder, wonder if I can use it for bbs? and what the heck is going on, my font was so tiny I could not see what I was typing?????

 

[hibiscusmile]

Also, here in the country we have big flies, the size of a quarter, what are those called, are they the blow flies? I gonna go play in cow poop! :clown:

 

[patrickfraser]

Oh yeah, the striped ones with the red bottom? Those are some bigguns.

 

[aNisip]

Those are called flesh flies...awesome feeders, however the females give live birth to the maggots right on the dogfood/whatever....or u xaych the females and chances are she's fertile and ready to lay, u just gently squeeze her abdomen and she spews maggz...but they don't lay as nearly as many as bbs lay eggs...so it will take tons of them to get the amount ud have with bbs...but today, I left my bb culture outside and saw a huge female flesh fly, it was exactly 1" and giving birth to her maggz on my dogfood...huge feeders...but take about three times as long to pupate and hatch...

 

[hibiscusmile]

You got to see that? I would love to see that too. Hope I can catch some here, without them taking my head off. Do they bite? With a name like flesh flies they must. I go google.

 

[hibiscusmile]

yuck, read up on them, to dangerous, thanks for info.

 

[jrh3]

yep we have flesh flies around here and some other big eyed fly thats about a 1inch long . like a house fly, i only see a few of those.

 

[Maddybelle]

Would this method work for houseflies and stable flies as well, or just BBs/GBs? And is there a way to stunt the flies so you can feed them to smaller mantids?

 

[patrickfraser]

I can't offer any info on the other flies, but BB and GB, if you wet them down good will leave the medium early. If you remove them, they will pupate when no food is available at the size they are. I have heard early pupation may also affect the wings, but i haven't noticed it, just smaller BBs.

 

[fleurdejoo]

Are we really certain that the carrots are poisonous to mantids?

I don't think so.

I use organic carrots to feed all my crickets.

Andrew when you are saying flesh flies are those also called soldiers flies? Or is that just another large fly?

 

[hibiscusmile]

Well I do know whenever I have used carrots as food, strangely enough me mantis have died, I was feeding them to worms too, and the mantis died, never do that again.

 

[hibiscusmile]

hummm, trying this again, nice thread, interesting to see what each is trying, I am like the rest of you, I would scream Ifn I saw a maggot, never mind a bb maggot, now they are nothing to me, well almost, haven't put my whole hand in the bucket yet, and I pray "dear Wonderful God, do not let me put my whole hand in there" :tt2:

 

[hibiscusmile]

Patrick, do you just use the chunky dog food to start them laying or do u use milk or something rotting? I keep searching and must of missed it. Would be nice if you make this a sticky without all the comments...... :kiss: ... can I suck up or what? :clown: