20 replies to this topic

[Temperateants]

Hi all, I read somewhere that some antkeepers set up fruit fly traps. I have also read that in some peoples experiences, fruit flys are quite irresistable to ants. My parents don't hire people to spray pesticides, so is trapping them safe for the ants?

[ponerinecat]

maybe, its best to raise a first generation before feeding. so let them breed first and wait for the new ones to hatch, use the new ones.

[Temperateants]

Do you have experience with fruit fly traps?

If so, how do you set up one?

[ponerinecat]

cover the bottom of a jar with rotten fruit. remove the cap and replace it with a funnel. they fly in and can't get out. it's hard to replace the cap though. you can also use the funnel as part of the cap and make a plug for it. they breed fast so only a few flies, and only one female are needed. you sex them by use of a black band on the tip of their abdomens, but i forgot how.

[Pumpkin_Loves_Ants]

cover the bottom of a jar with rotten fruit. remove the cap and replace it with a funnel. they fly in and can't get out. it's hard to replace the cap though. you can also use the funnel as part of the cap and make a plug for it. they breed fast so only a few flies, and only one female are needed. you sex them by use of a black band on the tip of their abdomens, but i forgot how.

Like what cat said. I simply bought a couple cheap plastic containers from the dollar store and poked one or two small holes in the Lira of them. I placed a couple bits of napkin under the fruit to absorb any extra liquids but that was very inefficient as the liquids pooled at the bottom very fast and the napkins could not hold much. I would think you could collect any extra liquids with something way more efficient than napkins but that was all I had on hand.

I meant to create a trap for alive fruit flys but I guess I accidentally turned it into a fruit fly culture as around five days later I saw tons of larvae digging in and out of the fruit. My question is how do I catch the new born fruit flys without them flying out of the container. I don’t want to put them in the freezer because they most likely will fall into the liquid when they die and they might freeze to and ingest some of the liquids that the moldy fruit has made and I don’t think moldy fruit juice on a fruit fly would seem very appealing to an ant.

[dermy]

 

My question is how do I catch the new born fruit flys without them flying out of the container.

Put the container into a fridge for a few minutes to knock them out and carefully knock out a few flies to feed your ants (they will wake up fast so you have to be quick about it) alternatively you can inoculate more cultures by adding flies from one culture to another and just killing (via freezer) a culture of fruit flies and then feeding the ants the frozen dead flies. I've had cultures crash out so it is best to make a few and have them running rather than 1 just in case.

[Pumpkin_Loves_Ants]

My question is how do I catch the new born fruit flys without them flying out of the container.

Put the container into a fridge for a few minutes to knock them out and carefully knock out a few flies to feed your ants (they will wake up fast so you have to be quick about it) alternatively you can inoculate more cultures by adding flies from one culture to another and just killing (via freezer) a culture of fruit flies and then feeding the ants the frozen dead flies. I've had cultures crash out so it is best to make a few and have them running rather than 1 just in case.

I understand that I can simply knock them out by putting them in the fridge but my concern is that they would fall into the liquid that has pooled in the bottom of the container from the fruit sitting in the container for so long. If they do fall would they still be safe to feed to ants or would the rotten juice be toxic to ants?

The fruits I am using are a slice of cantaloupe and honeydew and they give off a lot of liquids that all collect in the bottom. I have been dumping out all the excess for the past couple of days now but it never seems to be fully rid of it all.

Could I add a drainage layer of some sorts like a part of a sponge or something?

Edited by Pumpkin_Loves_Ants, September 6 2019 - 8:13 AM.

[ponerinecat]

you can wash the flies

[beniamin82]

It is no so complicated. On the pictures you see my way.
They going to light. If you make a hole in the top of the plastic box and put over them another box they will fly high.

You must be quick, but if I loose few is not such big waste.


This system we used for aquarium fishes in the eighties and nineties. In Poland there wasn't in thoose times special food for fishes to buy so we had to grow them ourselves.

And can I use my knowledge to feed my Ants :-).

Edited by beniamin82, September 7 2019 - 10:34 AM.

[MrPurpleB]

Would you freeze the fruit fly or kill them some how before feeding them to your ants? I understand that mealworms and crickets you typically boil or freeze, but fruit flies seem small that it might just ruin the nutritional value.

[beniamin82]

I pick up some from the jar once in a week. I freeze them and then feed to the ants daily
But I have small colonies from this year. I think next year they will get bigger insect to eat.

Edited by beniamin82, September 7 2019 - 10:28 AM.

[MrPurpleB]

I pick up some from the jar once in a week. I freeze them and then feed to the ants daily
But I have small colonies from this year. I think next year they will get bigger insect to eat.

Alright, thanks for the help. Nice fruit fly trap.

Edited by MrPurpleB, September 7 2019 - 10:29 AM.

[Pumpkin_Loves_Ants]

It is no so complicated. On the pictures you see my way.
They going to light. If you make a hole in the top of the plastic box and put over them another box they will fly high.

You must be quick, but if I loose few is not such big waste.


This system we used for aquarium fishes in the eighties and nineties. In Poland there where no special food for fishes to buy so we had to grow them ourselves.

And can I use my knowledge to feed my Ants :-).

Wow! That is a really creative design! I am going to try to make something like that and post a picture later today. Have you ever had to place new fruits in? Thank you for sharing this design!

[beniamin82]

It's not just fruit. You need to pour a few tablespoons of flour with boiling water and mix with the spoon. If there will stay a few unmixed places is no problem.
I do not know how many water I add. I think on 2-3 tablespoons 100ml?

You should put the mixture to the jar, and than trow the fruits, the best option for me was cutted apple, but lately I use also bananas.

After cool down it should have a form of jelly.

I do not put fruit after that, I start a new breeding once in 4-5months.

Edited by beniamin82, September 7 2019 - 12:03 PM.

[SuperFrank]

Okay. I am kind of shocked that no one has brought it up yet, But there is a better option than setting up rotting containers of fruit and stuff around your house and hoping wild flies breed in them. Many different amphibians, reptiles, and arthropods require fruit flies as a feeder and they can be bought live online or at any petstore. You can also buy bags of media and starter cultures to breed your own. Also the ones people culture don't have the ability to fly. Because opening up a container of rotting fruit only to release a swarm of flying insects would be a nightmare. There are two main species D hydei and D melanogaster, hydei is bigger and reproduces slightly slower, but both will produce thousands of flies. A culture lasts around a month, it takes about 2 weeks for a population to build up and then you can begin harvesting and continue to do so for another 2ish weeks.

[SuperFrank]

D melanogaster culture:
https://www.amazon.c...i_ZEBDDb1P6TSER

Culture kit: https://www.amazon.c...i_zFBDDbFRF5YNJ

[ponerinecat]

I didn't bring it up and everyone else probably didn't because he asked for how to trap them. Buying is better, but they might have reasons to not buy.

[SuperFrank]

I didn't bring it up and everyone else probably didn't because he asked for how to trap them. Buying is better, but they might have reasons to not buy.

I see, it just seems so icky/aggravating to try and culture wild flies that can actually fly. I've had my cultures develop the ability to fly a few times for one reason or another and it was horrifying. Opening a jar to a face full of fruit flies is the worst.

[beniamin82]

But there is a better option than setting up rotting containers of fruit and stuff around your house and hoping wild flies breed in them..

This has nothing to do with hope, they will breed in.

But you have right, if somebody will buy it, there is no problem to buy.
But I am such a person who do not pay for things i can have for free. Especially if I have time to do it, and it makes fun to breed own fruit flies.
I have also greater wax moth and mealworms.
But I have own basement, I do not breed the fruitflies at home.

I have one question how do you pick up the hydei flies from the container if they no fly? .

Edited by beniamin82, September 8 2019 - 9:08 PM.

[SuperFrank]

Actually it has everything to do with hope. You are hoping wild flies will breed in your trap and you are hoping said flies won't contain parasites or disease.

Removing flies from a culture is extremely simple, open the lid and dump some out. If you need to pick out individual flies you just dump them into a container painted with fluon so they can't climb out and then pick them out with tweezers.