Flightless Fruit Fly Culture (Drosophila melanogaster)

Flightless Fruit Fly Cultures (Drosophila melanogaster)

The first food for the smallest predators. Our flightless fruit fly cultures are packed with live Drosophila melanogaster, the tiny, soft-bodied feeder insect relied on by frog keepers, mantis keepers and spider keepers everywhere. These flies have stunted wings and can’t fly, only hop and crawl, so they stay where you put them and are easy for small animals to catch. Each culture is a self-contained, ventilated cup of breeding media that keeps producing new flies for weeks.

Choose your culture

• Aged Culture: ready to feed now. An established culture that’s already producing adult flies, with larvae and pupae coming through behind them. Ideal if you need food straight away, or want flies to start your own cultures immediately.
• Starter Culture: grow your own supply. A freshly seeded culture, with adult flies added to new media. Flies begin emerging in about [10–14] days, so it’s the best value if you’re planning ahead or keeping cultures going on rotation.

What eats flightless fruit flies?

• Froglets and small frogs, including dainty tree frogs and eastern sedge frogs
• Jumping spiders and spiderlings
• Praying mantis nymphs and small mantises
• Baby scorpions, centipedes and other tiny invertebrates
• Very young geckos and other hatchling reptiles that need micro-feeders
• Fish fry and small insect-eating animals

Quick facts

• Species: Drosophila melanogaster (flightless)
• Size: about 2–3mm
• Life cycle: about 2–3 weeks from egg to adult at 24°C
• Culture lifespan: produces flies for around 3–4 weeks
• Escape risk: low. They can’t fly, but they can climb and hop.

How to Care for a Fruit Fly Culture

Temperature
Keep cultures at around 22–26°C, out of direct sunlight. Production slows sharply below 18°C, and temperatures above 28°C can stress the culture and cause winged flies to appear.

Where to keep it
Store the cup upright, indoors and away from your fruit bowl and kitchen scraps, which attract wild flies and pests.

Keep a supply going
One culture won’t last forever. Start a new culture every 1–2 weeks, so a fresh one is always coming into production as the old one winds down. Most keepers run two or three at a time.

Watch for mites and mould
Grain mites and mould are the two most common culture killers. Discard old cultures after about 4 weeks, never reuse old media, and wipe down the shelf where your cultures live. Mould usually means the culture is too cool or too wet.

How to Feed Fruit Flies to Your Animal

1. Tap the cup firmly on a table so the flies drop to the bottom.
2. Open the lid quickly and tip a small number of flies into a cup with a pinch of calcium powder.
3. Swirl gently to dust them.
4. Tip the dusted flies straight into your enclosure, then close the culture lid quickly.

Offer only what your animal will eat in a day, so uneaten flies don’t wander off.

Make Your Own Banana and Oat Fruit Fly Media

Once your culture is producing, you can use its adult flies to start new cultures at home. This simple banana and oat paste is one of the easiest fruit fly media recipes to make.

You’ll need:

• 2 very ripe bananas
• About 1 cup of rolled oats
• 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar (helps slow mould)
• A splash of water
• A pinch of baker’s yeast
• A clean, ventilated cup and some climbing material, such as wood wool, a coffee filter or a twist of paper towel

Method:

1. Mash the bananas into a smooth paste.
2. Stir in the oats and vinegar, adding water a little at a time until you have a thick porridge that doesn’t slide when the cup is tipped.
3. Spoon 2–3cm into a clean cup and let it cool if you warmed it.
4. Sprinkle a pinch of yeast over the surface to feed the larvae.
5. Add climbing material, pressing it lightly into the media so flies have somewhere to rest and pupae have somewhere to attach.
6. Tip in 30–50 adult flies from your existing culture, close the lid and write the date on the cup.

At around 24°C, new flies should start appearing in about two weeks.

Fruit Fly Culture FAQ

What’s the difference between an aged and a starter fruit fly culture?
An aged culture is already producing flies and is ready to feed straight away. A starter culture has just been seeded and will begin producing in about [10–14] days.

How long does a fruit fly culture last?
Around 3–4 weeks of production, depending on temperature. Start new cultures every 1–2 weeks for a steady supply.

Why are winged flies appearing in my culture?
Usually the culture got too warm (above 28°C), or wild fruit flies got in. Discard it and start fresh from a clean culture.

How many fruit flies should I feed?
Only what your animal eats in a day. Small frogs and jumping spiders usually need just a few flies per feed.

Can fruit flies escape?
Flightless fruit flies can’t fly, so escapes are rare. Close the lid quickly after feeding and keep cultures upright.

Do I need to dust fruit flies with calcium?
Yes, for frogs and reptiles. A light dusting of calcium powder helps prevent metabolic bone disease.

Pairs well with: Calcium Powder, Calcium Powder + D3, Mantis Enclosure Starter Kit, Dainty Tree Frog (Litoria gracilenta), Northern Queensland Rainbow Jumping Spiders (Cosmophasis micariodes), Springtail Cultures.

Live cultures ship Australia-wide on Mondays and Tuesdays (excluding NT and Tasmania), or collect from our Surry Hills store.