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REVIEW: Timberline Flightless Fruit Flies (PetCo)


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#1 Offline PTAntFan - Posted August 19 2016 - 10:53 AM

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I have not had these long enough to know their longevity (claim 5 weeks), but the first issue I see is that within a few days there were countless flies hatching.  That's problematic if they all hatch within a week and then you have none left.

 

Two, they're NOT flightless.  I'd call them flight-limited.  These things jump. A lot!  It makes an interesting challenge for my ants but delivering the flies to my ants is problematic to say the least.


PTAntFan----------------------------------Pogonomyrmex Californicus*****************************<p>I use the $3 Tower I made up. See it here.

#2 Offline MrmrGatlin - Posted August 19 2016 - 10:55 AM

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Haha a new breed, the latest in athletic insects, jumping flies!!!  :lol:


Current Species-------------------------
Brachymyrmex Patagonicus [First workers]
Pheidole Floridana [R.I.P. :'( ]
Odontomachus Brunneus [Founding]

#3 Offline Saftron - Posted August 19 2016 - 11:21 AM

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Yeah I was deciding on buying fruit flies or mealworms from petco and the flies were jumping for days! So I just bought the mealworms from Petco



#4 Offline MrmrGatlin - Posted August 19 2016 - 11:26 AM

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Nice! I've been considering picking up some meal worms and starting a culture. Currently I have a white dwarf isopod culture starting up but they take their sweet time. I have about 100 that just hatched from the few adults I was able to find. I think once the growth starts to compound that it'll work out great though.


Current Species-------------------------
Brachymyrmex Patagonicus [First workers]
Pheidole Floridana [R.I.P. :'( ]
Odontomachus Brunneus [Founding]

#5 Offline Batspiderfish - Posted August 19 2016 - 1:25 PM

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I have a two-culture D. melanogaster setup (started from a PetCo culture) that works pretty well. I harvest the whole lot of the flies a while after the first adults emerge. A portion of them are used to seed the new culture, and the rest are frozen. I have to set up a new culture every two weeks, but that's with an organic medium. Drosophila are a favorite food for all of my ants.


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If you've enjoyed using my expertise and identifications, please do not create undue ecological risk by releasing your ants. The environment which we keep our pet insects is alien and oftentimes unsanitary, so ensure that wild populations stay safe by giving your ants the best care you can manage for the rest of their lives, as we must do with any other pet.

 

Exotic ants are for those who think that vibrant diversity is something you need to pay money to see. It is illegal to transport live ants across state lines.

 

----

Black lives still matter.


#6 Offline PTAntFan - Posted August 19 2016 - 1:44 PM

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I have a two-culture D. melanogaster setup (started from a PetCo culture) that works pretty well. I harvest the whole lot of the flies a while after the first adults emerge. A portion of them are used to seed the new culture, and the rest are frozen. I have to set up a new culture every two weeks, but that's with an organic medium. Drosophila are a favorite food for all of my ants.

 

Can you please either post here or send me DM some pictures and further details?  I would love to replicate.


PTAntFan----------------------------------Pogonomyrmex Californicus*****************************<p>I use the $3 Tower I made up. See it here.

#7 Offline drtrmiller - Posted August 19 2016 - 3:57 PM

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Easily preserve fruit flies for months from only a single culture:

Simply take a test tube and funnel, and shake the flies into the tube. Plug the tube air-tight and freeze.

 

A rubber plug may work better than a polyethylene stopper to keep the contents sealed and fresh.  Ensure the contents never thaw prior to use, so that they stay separated in the tube and easy to dispense.


Edited by drtrmiller, August 19 2016 - 4:04 PM.

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#8 Offline PTAntFan - Posted August 19 2016 - 5:12 PM

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SO OBVIOUS!  duh.


PTAntFan----------------------------------Pogonomyrmex Californicus*****************************<p>I use the $3 Tower I made up. See it here.

#9 Offline PTAntFan - Posted August 19 2016 - 5:20 PM

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Thanks for helping my silly brain Dr. T.  But I am still interested in the culturing method.


PTAntFan----------------------------------Pogonomyrmex Californicus*****************************<p>I use the $3 Tower I made up. See it here.

#10 Offline Batspiderfish - Posted August 19 2016 - 5:57 PM

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They grow very well in just about any oxygenated jar or container. You can put a half-inch or so of nutritious medium (I just use instant potato flakes and homemade kombucha or organic cider vinegar) and then push in some coffee filters: done deal.

 

I was silly once and 3d printed a shape to fit the interior of one of my Drosophila cultures, but I gave the object no walls and a light infill that made an awful and deliberate mess of a tower as it printed. It's not the hardest thing in the world to clean (PLA, so hot water softens it), but it's so much more convenient to just throw away coffee filters.


Edited by Batspiderfish, August 19 2016 - 6:05 PM.

If you've enjoyed using my expertise and identifications, please do not create undue ecological risk by releasing your ants. The environment which we keep our pet insects is alien and oftentimes unsanitary, so ensure that wild populations stay safe by giving your ants the best care you can manage for the rest of their lives, as we must do with any other pet.

 

Exotic ants are for those who think that vibrant diversity is something you need to pay money to see. It is illegal to transport live ants across state lines.

 

----

Black lives still matter.





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