27 replies to this topic

[dspdrew]

I just recently started using fruit flies for feeders sometimes. They're nice because they don't need to be cut up, and for most of my colonies, they don't even need to be killed. It's also nice that they are entirely soft, so they probably don't contribute much to the ant's trash pile either.

 

I watched tons of videos on how to culture them, and the vast majority are basically just the same exact information. Maybe a few might do some minor things slightly different than others, but they're mostly all doing the same thing. You can buy the cups with the special lids and stuff already designed for it, but the cost of all that stuff can really start to add up.

 

I wanted to find the cheapest way to breed them and with the least amount of work. I also don't need thousands and thousands of them, even with the amount of ant colonies I have. We ant-keepers don't need nearly as many fruit flies as someone feeding them to a bunch of larger animals.

 

Well, this is what I came up with.

 

 

 

I use only a tiny bit of media in each of these, and setting them up is simple. I just use a funnel to pour 1/2 tsp of the powder media in them, and then give each one a full pipette of vinegar/water mixture. After sitting for about an hour, the powder soaks up all the water and swells to about one inch in height. After that I stick a popsicle stick in each one to give them the surface area they need. I use the same funnel to tap about 15 or so flies in each one and plug it with some cotton.

 

Doing it this way allows you to simply tap them into your ant colonies without the need to be transferring them from container to container which can be a real PITA because of how crazy they get trying to escape. Anyone who has dealt with fruit flies probably knows what I'm talking about.

 

Since test tubes are so cheap, I stopped washing them out years ago and just throw them away and buy new ones instead. At least now I have a use for all the used test tubes that would normally just go in the trash. Most are plenty clean enough to use for this, I just like using brand new crystal clear test tubes for new ant colonies so that's why I would normally just toss them out.

 

If anyone has any ideas or suggestions, let me know. I just recently started doing this, and so far it's been working great.

[Virginian_ants]

I first thought you were making Popsicles, seems like a great idea I should try.

[rptraut]

Hello Dspdrew;
Thanks for the great instructions. What is the powder medium that you use and what is the water/vinegar mix ratio that you add? I’ve been using cups to raise them, but this method seems much simpler and small batches, started at regular intervals, would provide a steady, fresh supply for my ants. Thanks again for an informative tutorial.
RPT

[100lols]

Thank you Andrew! What is the time frame between adding the flies and then using them as food in a setup like this?

[dspdrew]

Hello Dspdrew;
Thanks for the great instructions. What is the powder medium that you use and what is the water/vinegar mix ratio that you add? I’ve been using cups to raise them, but this method seems much simpler and small batches, started at regular intervals, would provide a steady, fresh supply for my ants. Thanks again for an informative tutorial.
RPT

 

I just came up with my mix based on a lot of the info I found online.

 

5 cups powered instant potatoes (26.7 oz box)
2 cups powdered sugar
2 cups brewers yeast
1/2 cup green superfood
1 tbsp cinnamon

 

1 part media
3 part (1 part vinegar, 2 part water)

 

 

Thank you Andrew! What is the time frame between adding the flies and then using them as food in a setup like this?

 

It's about a week before new flies eclose.

[AsdinAnts]

man, where am I able to get fruit flies?

[ANTdrew]

man, where am I able to get fruit flies?

Amazon, eBay, PetsMart, joshsfrogs.com, etc.

[Voidley]

The timing of this post is impeccable! I literally just bought a fruit fly culture a couple of days ago, but I froze them because I didn’t want to deal with all the maintenance. Now, I find that you have a much easier, cleaner way of keeping them 

 

For me, the biggest issue was having to setup a whole new container every time you start a new culture. I don’t have the space or energy to deal with all of that. Plus, as you pointed out, we ant keepers need so few flies to feed our pets, so there is no need for all those containers worth of flies. Because of this, I was wondering, how often do you start new cultures? Also, how long does a test tube culture live for before you discard it?

[dspdrew]

About every two weeks I make five more. At that point the old ones are starting to smell pretty bad, and there isn't much media or life left in them and I throw them away.

 

After spending 10 dollars on a culture, I thought no way am I going to keep paying that much for some fruit flies, but at the same time, I don't want to be a slave to fruit fly breeding either. I figured by doing it this way, I can do as little as one small test tube of flies every two weeks to keep the colony going and never have to waste another dollar buying a big culture.

[100lols]

Very innovative, as always my friend. Thank you!

[PurdueEntomology]

I have beens culturing fruit flies for a few years now but in larger jars. I will send some pics.  I use them to feed the dart frogs and ants.  I also have dubi roaches and meal worms going now for a couple of years. Culturing one's own protein sources (sounds bleak) is very economical. 

[Mushu]

I used to culture my own fruit flies from Josh frogs fruit fly kit back then when my harvester ant colony was able to make use of them as the alternate protein source with the 32 oz deli containers.

Like Dspdrew I also was not going to buy a new culture every time nor keep paying for new deli cups and had not thought about cleaning them out at the time. I gave away my ant colony before I used up my kit, about 1 year.

Fast forward today and I was in the same dilemma as everyone, not needing that many fruit flies, and I sure as heck ain’t paying the current prices for a fresh culture from retail every 2-4 weeks. You can get media for that price to make 20 cultures yourself and it’s easy.

This thread provided a great idea to save and waste not. I always have lots of the 16 oz water bottles. I once again bought Josh’s frog kit to start. Their media smells great to where it’s enticing to eat. This was before I found this thread to use smaller containers with cotton.

Here is my experience so far:

1. If setup right you can’t really stop the boom, I also tried to put less flies but 1 female of the smaller melanogaster wingless fruit fly can lay up to 400 eggs over 10 days.

2. I put less media(3 teaspoons) and excelsior(more surface area) and that appears to slow down the boom about 2 weeks sooner than if you have enough media and excelsior to keep booming.

3. I was using boiled tap water at first and thought that may have been the cause of the slowdown and possibly darkening of the excelsior(sign of a old culture) but I’ve since tried distilled water for one culture and boiled tap water for another(I have to a buddy), but this time I added 5-6 teaspoons of media with a bit more excelsior. These 2 cultures are both booming. Buddy needed more fruit flies than me so I made them to last longer and wanted to experiment.

Tap water is fine in most cases but your local water system may be different and at different times of the year. It’s not as important for us Ant-keepers but if production slowed bit may be more detrimental for say a reptile keeper. Distilled/purified water would be more consistent or for just for peace of mind. I prefer to use boiling waters or hot tap water.

I have since also made my own media similar to Dspdrews which is basically a variation of the "carolina biological supply" recipe. I found one that also includes powdered milk which seems to be additional vitamins/minerals and more protein. Mix with 75/25 water/vinegar.

4. I didn’t use giant cotton balls but used large, and while it fits over the water bottle snugly, over time it can get more/less humid and it shrinks a bit and I’ve had a slight gap for them to escape a one time or had to replace with a new one as it didn’t fit snugly. This can be remedied with larger sized cotton balls.

5. I decided to also try out 20 oz Gatorade bottle with a mesh lid to re-use and for more surface area. If you can mesh a water bottle cap you can re-use the cap.

I have since found a video to easily clean and re-use the deli cups so the idea is to put less media but does require extra step to clean. This would come in handy for those that have larger colonies and can make use of the a 32 oz deli cup culture, or you can just put less media/excelsior.

[dspdrew]

Freezing them huh.. that's a great idea.

[Mushu]

Freezing them huh.. that's a great idea.

 

Indeed, freezing the old culture and it pops out easily. I'd probably add an extra step for myself and put it in a bag before putting in the freezer.

 

I also use the fully plastic vented lids, compared to the fabric vented, it should last indefinitely. Just order a few for backup in case. I got a set of 10 myself.

https://joshsfrogs.c...id-insectcuplid

 

The difference of the lids is noted here. Plastic vented keeps the culture more humid compared to the fabric vented. 

https://joshsfrogs.c...-should-you-use

 

One thing to note is, compared to before, the deli cups appear to be weaker, at least the ones I got from Josh's frogs. I recall I used to be able to just snap on the lid pushing from the top, but now the body of the cup is thinner and bends easier. I broke one so now I just hold where the lid and the top meets and close it by sections all around so as to not put pressure on the body of the deli cup. 

[Flu1d]

I use Josh's Frogs medium and excelsior, but instead of the plastic cups and lids, I use a larger sized glass Mason jar as well as a top made specifically for Mason jar fruit fly culturing from Por Amor Art.

It comes with several tops, with 2 hole types. One for culturing, one for collecting. I also use their little glass jars and just put that over the male hole on the jar top and they climb right into it.

I just freeze that amount of flies and then put them into the outworld/test tube.

It's super easy and the Mason jars are fully reusable.. Just wash them when finished! Below is a poorly taken photo of an example.

The top is riddled in TINY holes, which you can't see in this picture due to the poor quality, that allow for air to enter so that they may breathe.

Edited by Flu1d, March 25 2024 - 5:39 PM.

[PurdueEntomology]

Album: Fruit fly

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[PurdueEntomology]

[Flu1d]

I love the Mason jar method! The little tops by Por Amor Art make gathering them easy, never having to open the top. There's a male and female top, you get multiple of both. Then, you can also put little vials up there and connect with tubing that they will climb up and you can just let some climb up into that if you like, as well

I just love the ease and reusability of Mason jars! I'm glad I'm not the only one using them. So far, I have only ever seen folks using the plastic cups and lids.

[PurdueEntomology]

 

 

I love the Mason jar method! The little tops by Por Amor Art make gathering them easy, never having to open the top. There's a male and female top, you get multiple of both. Then, you can also put little vials up there and connect with tubing that they will climb up and you can just let some climb up into that if you like, as well

I just love the ease and reusability of Mason jars! I'm glad I'm not the only one using them. So far, I have only ever seen folks using the plastic cups and lids.

 

Exactly, I can reuse that is why I use them and they are large so I can get a large number of flies.  I have many colonies and Keep poison dart frogs so I have a need for large number of flies.  When gathering for the ants I have a metal bowl I keep in freezer.  I just knock the flies down, unscrew the lid remove the screen,  knock flies into cold bowl which stuns them then reseal lid with screen, pop bowl in freezer and wait.  I then scoop out with small test tube and feed ants.  For the frogs I have a small cup where I place vitamin mixture powder, same method without freezing and feed the frogs.  I have to start 1-2 new cultures every weekend to keep up with my needs.

Edited by PurdueEntomology, March 26 2024 - 9:18 PM.

[Mushu]

I've also looked into mason jars. How does the cleaning compare to freezing the dead culture in a 32 oz deli cup?