# Possible Hybrid FFxGnat???



## Darts/Mantellas.by.P3RRY (Feb 1, 2011)

Ok so I know what Fungus gnats look like and what FF's that can fly look like well today after I got off work I was feeding my Southren Cobalts and put my culture down I sat a very fast almost aggressive fly that looked like a FF but had the wings and legs of a Fungus gnat. Now im wondering since I put a fairly large amount of FF's in the tank and Fungus gnats are always present (damn Pest) If they could have cross bred? Now I have no FF's that are capable of flying so I"m kinda confused I did catch the pest I'm going to drop an alcohol swab in the culture cup and kill it then attempt to take a clear photo and see what you guys think???


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## MeiKVR6 (Sep 16, 2008)

Could be Phorid Flies...  Those are a pain in the arse! I know a friend who's got them in an empty vivarium.


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

Darts/Mantellas.by.P3RRY said:


> Ok so I know what Fungus gnats look like and what FF's that can fly look like well today after I got off work I was feeding my Southren Cobalts and put my culture down I sat a very fast almost aggressive fly that looked like a FF but had the wings and legs of a Fungus gnat. Now im wondering since I put a fairly large amount of FF's in the tank and Fungus gnats are always present (damn Pest) If they could have cross bred? Now I have no FF's that are capable of flying so I"m kinda confused I did catch the pest I'm going to drop an alcohol swab in the culture cup and kill it then attempt to take a clear photo and see what you guys think???


No they won't have cross bred. As noted above it is probably a phorid also known as a humpback fly. They are known for invading fruit fly cultures and many other herp related things (like hatching reptile eggs). 



Ed


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## Darts/Mantellas.by.P3RRY (Feb 1, 2011)

Yea there trying to get into my cultures I cought a few and killed them. my question is where the hell did they show up from after over a year of making cultures and never seeing them????
I tried taking pics its not happening so I googled the fly and you guys nailed it right on the head thanks a lot. Now are they harmful to cultures or plants in any way?


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

They often start to show up inside at this time of year. If you have animals to which you are feeding large crickets or large mealworms that could have come in with those insects but often they will simply come in from outside or from the drains. 

Ed


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

They seem to show up out of nowhere. They invade old cultures sometimes. Years ago I tried to culture them with very poor results. No matter though as they are really fast, so fast I've never seen a frog be able to take them. They aren't harmful, just annoying.


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

Pumilo said:


> They seem to show up out of nowhere. They invade old cultures sometimes. Years ago I tried to culture them with very poor results. No matter though as they are really fast, so fast I've never seen a frog be able to take them. They aren't harmful, just annoying.


I have seen them infect egg masses and injuries on frogs so I wouldn't call them harmless. 

Ed


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

Didn't know that.


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

It caused me to quarantine in the gasket tubs with mesh small enough to prevent them from entering the enclosures after I lost a couple of treefrogs to myiasis of some scrapes several years ago. Thier life cycle is about 14 days under the same conditions as fruit flies and their maggots grow very quickly. 


Ed


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## Tony (Oct 13, 2008)

Pumilo said:


> Years ago I tried to culture them with very poor results.


I've found that trying to culture crickets is a surefire way to have a booming phorid fly population. The maggots seem to thrive on cricket eggs.


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

As well as on the carcasses of dead crickets. 

Ed


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

If I added water to a dying, burned out, 2 month old culture that had some in it, I would get some production. When I put 20 or so in a fresh made, sterile culture, however, I got almost no production. I gathered that they must need a higher protein level, or carcases. 
After what you've just told me, Ed, I guess it's a good thing I wasn't successful and loading up 40 vivs with them!! I guess even failure can be a success!


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

I dislike finding them in my house more than I dislike slugs on an orchid...... Over the last 30 years I've seen them cause problems with a wide variety of things.. ranging from parasitizing and killing water dragon hatchlings by infesting the navel before it healed to getting into the slits as snake eggs were hatching to problems with frogs and feeder insects. It is one of the main reasons I keep my crickets in sealable tubs with vents covered by super fine mesh and I don't like to keep zoophobas in any real quantity anymore. 

That is even before you look at all of the cases in the literature of them parasitizing wounds in hospitals and so forth.. 

Personally I am glad they didn't work for you...


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