27 replies to this topic

[BugFinder]

so the difference between the two is I use heat for the 100, and no heat for the 600/655.  Is that correct?

[drtrmiller]

I thought I would also let people know that blue 100 works for fruit fly medium. I made a batch in a container, but my ants didn't really care for it . So I trough it In a drawer and one of my flightless fruit flies got in before I closed lid. Now a week or two later, and I see a single fruit fly in there with lots of maggots... Also I thought I would put some in my leopards gecko cage just because. It dried out, and a day later it was covered in the mealworms that escaped from his food bowl. They also turned blue...

 

I had success with D. melanogaster, but not the larger D. hydei.  I had plans to sell it as fruit fly media, actually.  But fruit fly media generally requires a higher concentration of preservatives, since the maggots are defecating in their own food.  

 

So while Blue 100 may work for culturing fruit flies, a formulation designed for fruit flies would be incompatible for feeding ants.

[drtrmiller]

so the difference between the two is I use heat for the 100, and no heat for the 600/655.  Is that correct?

 Correct.  You do not need to heat 600 or 655.  Boiling cooks the proteins (egg) in 100, and dissolves the agar to form a gel in 100, 300, and 600.

 

655 is very similar to hummingbird nectar you hear a lot of people talking about, in that it is just sugar, dye, and preservatives to keep bacteria from growing.

[BugFinder]

I'm doing something wrong.  I must be an idiot.  When I pour this stuff into the lightyear feeder, it just flows through it and flows into the sink.  How do I keep the food in the feeder?

[drtrmiller]

Sounds like you're removing the cap to the (test tube) reservoir.  

 

You must:

• Detach the test tube reservoir from the base
• Pour the liquid into the test tube reservoir
• Reassemble with the base section, while oriented upside down
• Then invert to normal position

Edited by drtrmiller, May 9 2015 - 8:34 PM.

[BugFinder]

Thanks Terry.  It's amazing how well things work when you use them properly.  I think I just proved the hypothesis you only need to be 10% smarter than these items to make them work.  Unfortunately I wasn't lol.

[BugFinder]

My Tetramorium Caespitum colony seems to love the green 655.  They are crowded around it and appear to be feeding.  The Camponotus Vicinus appear to be trying to bury the feeder with their trash pile, so the jury is still out for them.  That surprises me because everyone has told me they need the hummingbird nectar or sugar water.

[Foogoo]

I decided to make a batch of the old Blue formula I still have. Oddly, my Pheidole which usually devours anything I give them, didn't touch the gel. When it dried up however, it was gone in an instant. I've noticed that before with some other species too, that they much prefer the dried gel over fresh gel.

 

I thought I would also let people know that blue 100 works for fruit fly medium. I made a batch in a container, but my ants didn't really care for it . So I trough it In a drawer and one of my flightless fruit flies got in before I closed lid. Now a week or two later, and I see a single fruit fly in there with lots of maggots... Also I thought I would put some in my leopards gecko cage just because. It dried out, and a day later it was covered in the mealworms that escaped from his food bowl. They also turned blue...

I'm going to have to try that. I haven't been able to stop potato flake medium from molding, even with lots of vinegar added.