# fruit fly culture set up



## gary1218 (Dec 31, 2005)

I've just started culturing my own fruit flies and I had a question on the coffee filter/paper towel/parchment paper etc. that you place in the cup with the flies & culture medium. Is the purpose solely to give the flies another place to crawl on besides the sides of the container so that they can get out of the medium?

Currently I am using quart size glass jars with a piece of that plastic mesh material that you use for needle point. My cultures are now 3-4 weeks old. While I'm getting good fly & egg production I see very few flies crawling on the plastic mesh. Can I just remove it or is there another reason it should be in there?

Thanks,
GARY


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## amphibianfreak (Jul 21, 2004)

Anything you put in the culture is for more surface area for eggs to be laid on and larva to climb out. It also give the flies a place other than the lid to congregate


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## bluedart (Sep 5, 2005)

More surface area=more flies.


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## gary1218 (Dec 31, 2005)

Soooooooooo................you could accomplish the same thing by just using a bigger container with more surface area. I found a nice plastic container at work. It's the same shape as the 32oz plastic cups most everybody uses but it's at least twice the size.

GARY


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## elmoisfive (Dec 31, 2004)

gary1218 said:


> Soooooooooo................you could accomplish the same thing by just using a bigger container with more surface area. I found a nice plastic container at work. It's the same shape as the 32oz plastic cups most everybody uses but it's at least twice the size.
> 
> GARY


Yes and no. A larger container would present a larger surface area on the sides but using something inside the container like coffee filters, parchment paper or excelsior can multiple the useful surface area significantly. The one upside of larger containers is fewer cultures to mess with...one down side is that any problem with a culture as in mold, mites or culture crash takes down more of your FF production capacity.

Bill


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