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Raising fruit flies outdoors?

D

david

Guest
Help me out.
I would like to set up an environment to raise these little guys, but I would have to put it outside (the wife won't let me have it inside...). Tell me, guys, before I waste the effort and money--can fruit flies live if I keep them outside?
I live in Napa, CA, so it won't get that cold.
Still, it will get cold.
But I am wondering...in the wild, these things have to go somewhere, right? Wouldn't that be outside???
 
J

jennifer

Guest
The species of fruit flies that most people raise are tropical. They get to the US in shipments of fruit. In cold climates they all die in winter, unless they stay alive indoors somewhere or get re-imported. I don't know offhand what their temperature tolerance is, but they certainly reproduce VERY slowly if their temp goes below 68F.

The ones most people raise as feeders are flightless. Hence, if you keep them far from the kitchen, they will never become a "pest" in your house. Perhaps your wife will reconsider?
 
D

david

Guest
Maybe. If I can figure out a way to make it not stink up the joint...
thanks, Jennifer
 
E

edward

Guest
How much the culture smells depends on the media mixture. If you use a good media and get the yeast established early then they worst they smell is a little beery but can be almost odorless. I've found that by using the carolina media, adding a banana, microwaving, and covering while hot and adding yeast and flies as soon as it cools have really eliminated the odor issue.
The odor is less of a problem as the escapees (as it will happen) or when you spill a collected bunch of flies. To eliminate or keep this down, you can use a small jar of balsamic, malt or apple cider vingager that is diluted about 50% with a couple of drops of soap added. The flies will then break the surface tension of the water and drown.
If you go to dendroboard.com and search you should be able to find a lot of threads on dealing with the odor.

Ed
 
I

ian

Guest
Edward, what is a carolina media? how do I create a media as they you you mentioned?
 
E

edward

Guest
Hi Ian,
The Carolina media is the premixed media sold by the Carolina Biological Supply Company for raising ffs. All you have to do is add water, and some yeast to rear the flies. This often has a slightly beery or yeasty smell to it. I add a banana to it as well as some other supplements now as some recent analysis has shown that ffs have little to no vitamin A and I am attempting to boost the nutrition quality of the flies (easier with the maggots) but the effectiveness of this method is unknown at this time.
For the webpage with the Carolina Media see
https://www2.carolina.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?catalogId=10101&storeId=10151&categoryId=449&langId=-1&parent_category_rn=1285|81|989&pageNum=1&catLevel=1&bottom=Y&top=N

If you want to try and make your own here is a link to check out
http://www.doylesdartden.com/fruitfly.html

Ed
 
I

ian

Guest
Thanks a lot. This really help. I hope I can get them in Canada without any shipping.
 
A

alberto

Guest
Hello Jennifer
Do wild fruit flies live in the wild, up North in the summer? I think that I saw some as a boy in a New York City park, on a partially rotten fruit.
Down here in Florida they are easy to grow out doors. Just leave a banana or some other fruit out side and in a few days you have wild fruit fly maggots feeding on the rotten fruit. I have use them to feed eft's many times when they were very small and also the newt larvas.
I look forward to your reply!
Best wishes to you
happy.gif

Alberto
 
J

jennifer

Guest
In summer, you can catch fruit flies up north. The method you suggest is certainly one way to get some. If you need a constant (or large) supply though, culturing the wingless kind works better.
 
A

alberto

Guest
Hello Jennifer
Thank you for the quick reply!
happy.gif

I have use both the wild fruit flies and the wingless kind that I bought once at a reptile & amphibians show. But I prefer to feed them the maggots because both kinds of fruit flies are very fast and even the wingless kind can scape.
I like to be as self sufficient as possible.
wink.gif

Best wishes to you always!
 
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