# life of fruit fly culture



## goof901 (Jan 9, 2012)

how long will a flightless melanogaster culture last? it's kept at around 65 deg and in ambient light on mite paper


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## mcaiger53 (Jan 3, 2011)

it really depends on many variables, such as: what kind of media used, how much media used, how many flies it was started with, excelsior or filters. I start mine with more flies than most probably use, because I like a lot of production, but they don't last as long that way so I also use a bit of media. mine are typically starting to dwindle around a month, when I throw them out. they might go for another week or so, but I usually have too many flies, so I discard the old ones. hope this helps, mike.


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

goof901 said:


> how long will a flightless melanogaster culture last? it's kept at around 65 deg and in ambient light on mite paper


At 65 F, your going to miss out on a lot of productivity in the culture due to the low temperatures. Keep in mind that typically 30 days is recommended since that reduces issues with mites (regardless if it is on paper or not). 

Ed


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## radiata (Jul 24, 2010)

Ed,

Is there an optimum temperature for FF propagation? I think I've found a way to propagate FFs, without mites, at a constant 77 to 78 degrees F. If this is a good temperature range, what species of FFs should I be looking to work with? 

Thanks in advance,
Bob



Ed said:


> At 65 F, your going to miss out on a lot of productivity in the culture due to the low temperatures. Keep in mind that typically 30 days is recommended since that reduces issues with mites (regardless if it is on paper or not).
> 
> Ed


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## jharris08 (Dec 26, 2011)

i date my cultures when i start them and throw them out after a month ( maybe a few days past a month if they are really producing) but not more than a couple days b/c like mentioned before, the life cycle for mites is around a month, so this helps control them greatly


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

radiata said:


> Ed,
> 
> Is there an optimum temperature for FF propagation? I think I've found a way to propagate FFs, without mites, at a constant 77 to 78 degrees F. If this is a good temperature range, what species of FFs should I be looking to work with?
> 
> ...


A wise frogger once said


> If you think you don't have mites then you haven't looked hard enough


  

In reality anywhere between around between 70- 80 F (or even higher) is going to be fine. I keep my cultures on the top shelf in my frog room since that tends to be somewhere between 75 and 85 F during the day (depending on the season) and if they are producing a little slow, I add a couple more cultures)... 

Ed


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## B-NICE (Jul 15, 2011)

I have come to the conclusion that mites are going to come up if you spray or have mite paper. I found a bunch of dead mites on the mite paper though.


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## bruce (Feb 23, 2007)

After 4 weeks I normally placed the cultures in the frog tank for a few days to let the frogs finish off what was left (Just be careful when tossing the container out as the frogs like digging for larvae)
(And yes mites are everywhere, the issue is keeping them at a minimum and production at a maximum, hence the tossing of 4 week old cultures)


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