# 7+ hrs in 30 something degree weather



## DizzyD (Sep 19, 2006)

Just a happy story, purchased 4 melano cultures the other day, they arrived today. I had to go to work an hr ealier than they arrived. So, these 4 cultures sat on the porch, in the wind, and snow for 7+hrs. Poor planning on my part. 
Anywho; it's an hr later, and at room temp, and my new FF's are running around. SO, while I don't reccomend it, I think I'm good to go here. Lucky day.


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## mcaiger53 (Jan 3, 2011)

I have been thinking about trying a producing culture in the fridge. At least to figure out if I can keep a dormant "just in case" culture. It makes sense, kinda, fruit flies go dormant every winter. Anybody have any idea how long they will last?


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## cheezus_2007 (Aug 20, 2009)

dang...that would be sawweeeettt if i could have a backup in the fridge for emergency lol.  hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm


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## mcaiger53 (Jan 3, 2011)

I have an almost expired culture I'm going to put in the fridge tomorrow. Ill take it out after a day or two and let you know???


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

now people all over will start freezing their flies to save for a later day


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## packer43064 (Nov 30, 2010)

I'm trying it now! I wil put 1 producing culture in right now. I'll see how it's going after I get home from work.


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## zBrinks (Jul 16, 2006)

How were the flies packed? Do you know what temps the cultures themselves actually were at?


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## oddlot (Jun 28, 2010)

If not you will have flycicle treats


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## eos (Dec 6, 2008)

It's like makeshift cryogenesis! FF edition!


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## DizzyD (Sep 19, 2006)

They were packed very well, styro lined box w/a heat pack. The cultures themselves weren't frozen, but the flies sure were. Reputable sponsor x is doing a fine job packing. No idea on temp, sorry zack. But they were definitely very cold when I opened the box.
hope that helps, for further info pm me or something. I'm pretty sure I can't ID sponsor x in this thread, even if it is good press.


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## angry gary (Dec 9, 2009)

it would seem to me that going from 70 degrees to 30 degrees in a very short time frame might be too much of a swing. maybe some where a bit cooler, then to the fridge. just a thought.

AG


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## Judy S (Aug 29, 2010)

Am new to some of the DB traditions...is there a prohibition against mentioning a vendor who may not be a sponsor, but who has given good service??? Just askin'...


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## packer43064 (Nov 30, 2010)

packer43064 said:


> I'm trying it now! I wil put 1 producing culture in right now. I'll see how it's going after I get home from work.


I wasn't lying when I said this. I put one in the fridge at 1 am and took it out at 6pm. So in total it was 17 hours. I took them out and after about an hour tops they were all moving again. Even the larva were moving as well. In the long run in the fridge it might be different, but for 17 hours and I'm sure more than that really they will be fine. As of yet at least, I'll keep watch on the culture.


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## Paul E. Wog (Jan 2, 2005)

Should toss one in the fridge for a week and then pull it out to see if the flies, larvae or eggs come out of dormancy. could be a cool way to keep some ff eggs in reserve just in case.


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## mcaiger53 (Jan 3, 2011)

I took the culture out of the fridge today, and within a couple hours, they all seemed to be running around just fine. I didn't want to use a full blown producing culture, so I started a new one w about 30-40 flies. Thet were in the fridge for about a week w no signs of life until they warmed. I think I will wait for this culture to start producing then throw them back in for another week or so. Just to see what happens?


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## Paul E. Wog (Jan 2, 2005)

This is really awesome! Did the culture have a ventilated lid or was it completely sealed?


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## Paul E. Wog (Jan 2, 2005)

I wonder if mites and mite eggs would die off under these conditions? Anybody know?


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## HunterB (Apr 28, 2009)

Judy S said:


> Am new to some of the DB traditions...is there a prohibition against mentioning a vendor who may not be a sponsor, but who has given good service??? Just askin'...


_"Vendor feedback and related conversations are not permitted in the forum."_

straight outta the user agreement haha

but really I have yet to see a MOD raise any fuss when the Vendor was mentioned positively, especially in passing such as this, what it really applies to is if you order from someone and they do a $hitty job packing or whatever - you cant just go blasting it on the interweb


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## mcaiger53 (Jan 3, 2011)

My culture had a ventilated lid. I don't think that the lid is that important since they weren't in the freezer. I think a sealed lid would be more important in freezing conditions. Kinda like how the inside of your car doesn't get frosty in the winter, I have forgoten to put the window up, only to have everything covered in frost.


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## packer43064 (Nov 30, 2010)

mcaiger53 said:


> I took the culture out of the fridge today, and within a couple hours, they all seemed to be running around just fine. I didn't want to use a full blown producing culture, so I started a new one w about 30-40 flies. Thet were in the fridge for about a week w no signs of life until they warmed. I think I will wait for this culture to start producing then throw them back in for another week or so. Just to see what happens?


Awesome! The culture that was in for over 12 hours for me is still producing like normal. 



Paul E. Wog said:


> I wonder if mites and mite eggs would die off under these conditions? Anybody know?


Doubtful, mites are evil critters. If the flies can slow down theirselves I'm sure the mites could also.



HunterB said:


> _"Vendor feedback and related conversations are not permitted in the forum."_
> 
> straight outta the user agreement haha
> 
> but really I have yet to see a MOD raise any fuss when the Vendor was mentioned positively, especially in passing such as this, what it really applies to is if you order from someone and they do a $hitty job packing or whatever - you cant just go blasting it on the interweb


Oops.


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## Tuckinrim8 (Jul 26, 2007)

I thought I read that if ffs are exposed to extreme high or low temps they can become sterile... The next step would be to see if you could get the fridged flys to produce in a new culture. Interesting thread! Please keep us posted! 
Chris


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## WendySHall (Aug 31, 2010)

I'll be darned!

Well then... would it be possible to keep an overflow container in the fridge (without media - just the container)... just keep dumping in extra flies when you have them... & save them for an emergency??? You could just tap out as many as you needed at the time and put the rest back in the fridge.

How long will they stay dormant without dying?

(Wow... never thought I'd be thinking about keeping flies in my fridge!)


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## WendySHall (Aug 31, 2010)

Even if they didn't reproduce... this could be a really good thing!​


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## nurse3766 (Apr 8, 2010)

i am really curious to see how this turns out.
i always have tons of extra bugs that die in the culture long before i can use them.

if this works it could save me a ton of money on media by saving extra bugs.

and yeah i make 6 cultures a week average and i only have 6 frogs but im so worried about running out of food. so u can see how this would save me alot of money and worry.

if this worked i could actually cut back on the number of cultures per week.

please update this thread

thanks guys

tbh i might just go ahead and toss a culture in fridge now 

what temp is yr fridge?


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## Erikb3113 (Oct 1, 2008)

I use the freezer to slow my flies down before a feeding, this way the frogs can get more dusted flies before they all run away. i dont put the whole culture in there though, just the ones i've shaken out for the single feeding. more than 5 mins or so in there and they do not come back though. I would be concerned with sterility in keeping them in the fridge for extended periods as the previous post mentioned


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## nurse3766 (Apr 8, 2010)

i put a FF cup with lid and about 200 ffs into my fridge.
removed after 24 hrs all looked dead, so i left the cup on the counter and forgot about it.
about 1 hr later i saw bugs climbing up the sides. all were alive.
i put it back in the fridge im going to leave it a week this time and see what happens


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## mcaiger53 (Jan 3, 2011)

Sorry I forgot to post earlier, the ff culture was in the fridge for a total of almost 2 weeks. It has been out for about a while now, and has been producing like normal. It has been producing just as well as the cultures that I made at the same time that I took it out of the fridge.


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## DartAsylum (Feb 17, 2011)

all mine died 3 days in the fridge or less
so maybe my fridge is too cold.

i put some under the sink where it stays cold, they died also.
i didnt use a culture, i just tossed some flies in a cup.


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## Paul E. Wog (Jan 2, 2005)

DartAsylum said:


> all mine died 3 days in the fridge or less
> so maybe my fridge is too cold.
> 
> i put some under the sink where it stays cold, they died also.
> i didnt use a culture, i just tossed some flies in a cup.


I doubt that it was cold enough under your sink to make them go dormant, so they probably starved. 

Did they go dormant in your fridge?


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## DartAsylum (Feb 17, 2011)

the ones in the fridge died 

under sink ones died also.

i think my fridge temp is close to freezing. probably was toooooooo cold.

if yr having success can u record yr temp in the fridge pls.


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## habubak (Jun 7, 2008)

I successfully sterilized all of my hydeii cultures one time by leaving them on top of my aquarium hood with the lights on - temps above like mid-80sF (?) are known to sterilize them. Can't remember the exact temp range, its been years since I did this. Interestingly, the heat didn't kill any of the flies themselves in the cultures, but there was no next generation and I had to order all new stock. Eggs and larvae just did not develop... ever.

On the issue of over-wintering: I'm not an expert, but generally small flies like this are not long-lived. Thus, I don't think the adults over-winter. Perhaps the eggs or larvae? Or they recolonize from warmer latitudes? 

If the fruit flies could survive the kinds of conditions we have in our refrigerators for any length of time, they'd prolly be distributed world-wide long ago, without the need for humans transporting them in produce (or heated styrofoam boxes) 

Cheers,
Steve
1.1.0 azureus
1.1.4 galacs - red&black


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## Paul E. Wog (Jan 2, 2005)

DartAsylum said:


> the ones in the fridge died
> 
> under sink ones died also.
> 
> ...


I am going to try this myself with some over-production from my current culture.

I think they may have gotten too cold in your fridge since ppl are having luck with their own refrigerated flies. Poor circulation in a fridge can cause freezing, so if you had them in a spot packed with groceries you may have froze them. 

As I said earlier I doubt very much that underneath your sink was cold enough to cause the FFs to go DORMANT, so they probably just lived out their regular life cycle and then died out.


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## mcaiger53 (Jan 3, 2011)

I placed a cheep exo-terra thermometer in the fridge on top of my ff culture and it is about 36-38f degrees. I keep mine on the door, so it doesnt get as cold as at the back. I took the culture out of the fridge before posting, just to make sure they werent dead. within about 30 minutes, they are starting to move again. the culture still feels cold and they are already moving...


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## DJboston (Oct 25, 2008)

Fruit flies are temperate. I had an order recently that was like 6 days late and was shipped Priority. The cultures had some dead flies but they're still going a month later. That's what you get for ordering flies from <redacted, Catfur>. Seems like that culture just lasts and lasts and lasts! lol


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## yumpster (May 22, 2009)

Kind of off topic, but I feel the need to make this comment. Earlier in the thread there was some discussion about if it is ok to say positive things about vendors. Let me tell you from experience that it's not. I got tagged with a vendor feedback infraction when I first became a member, and I had nothing but positive things to say. If vendors weren't allowed to be sponsors here, it wouldn't make any difference. I guess I can understand that vendors don't want to pay to be a sponsor if their name is going to be slandered. 

Cool about the fridge thing though.


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## packer43064 (Nov 30, 2010)

^^^
Agreed. Vender feedback goes in the Itrader system that's it. Positive or negative, it doesn't matter.


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## Catfur (Oct 5, 2004)

yumpster said:


> Kind of off topic, but I feel the need to make this comment. Earlier in the thread there was some discussion about if it is ok to say positive things about vendors. Let me tell you from experience that it's not. I got tagged with a vendor feedback infraction when I first became a member, and I had nothing but positive things to say. If vendors weren't allowed to be sponsors here, it wouldn't make any difference. I guess I can understand that vendors don't want to pay to be a sponsor if their name is going to be slandered.


Most vendors wanted the feedback, positive or negative. Feedback is not allowed primarily in order to shield DB from being involved in any legal issues.


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## yumpster (May 22, 2009)

I suppose that makes sense when you think about it.


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## DJboston (Oct 25, 2008)

My bad. I am not on here to give vendors feedback either way...I just wasn't thinking.

I've ordered from 4-5 different vendors this month. Just wasn't thinking when I posted it.

Honestly, I apologize but I have a lot more important things to worry about than accidentally saying something nice about a vendor. Won't happen again though.

Thanks,
D


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## yumpster (May 22, 2009)

I didn't mean to direct that at you. I was just trying to answer the question that was being tossed around earlier in the discussion.


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## Kaity (Sep 18, 2010)

I just thought I'd post a funny/related story. I was throwing away old cultures...put them in the freezer over night. In the morning I was in a hurry so wrapped the rock solid frozen cultures in a plastic bag and put it in the kitchen trash can instead of taking it outside like I usually do. When I go home I found a trash can overflowing with FF's!!! So maybe you just need to give them about 10 hours to "regenerate"!


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