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How To Use Feeder Flies Including House Flies, Blue Bottle Flies and Soldier Fly Care

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This is a video I wish I'd made years ago to support those fellow hobbyists using the various feeder flies available for use in the small animal hobbies. Whether you are raising predatory pet bugs, amphibians or reptiles, feeder flies are frequently on the menu for your pets at some stage of their lives. I cover the smallest types of feeder flies, the fruit flies, in a separate video here:
• Fruit Fly Culture Care...
But in this video we explore the care and maintenance for a few larger types of feeder flies that may become important to your pet once it graduates to a size where fruit flies are no longer providing enough of a gut load for your growing pet. House flies are the next size level up and they are one of the easiest insect feeders to work with among all feeder insects. These are commonly sold as house fly pupae which are essentially like fly cocoons where the immature fly larva AKA maggot is changing through metamorphosis into an adult fly. As pupae they are immobile little cylinders that look a bit like elongate maroon eggs. Since they do not move in this stage of their life cycle they are very easy to work with.
Also discussed are the similar but larger blue bottle flies AKA blow flies. These are commonly sold as spikes AKA maggots but they quickly change into pupae when kept at room temperature, and then feeding is straight forward again as the video explains.
And finally we take a brief look at black soldier flies, another common feeder insect within the order Diptera, the flies.
Together, these common feeder insects fill gaps that crickets, feeder roaches and the various worms including mealworms on the feeder insect market never did. For example, many mantises and other small predators don't have the same predator response to crawling foods that they do with winged or flying feeder insects.
If you have questions about these or any other feeders or pet bugs, please feel free to ask in the comments below.
Contest Winners from last week's Friday video will be mentioned in my first public comment in the comments section below on the morning(ish) of 5/1/2020.
You can purchase feeders of various kinds at my website, below.
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#houseflycare #houseflycaresheet #feederflies #feederhouseflies

Опубликовано:

20 авг 2024

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Комментарии : 105

@LemonRats 9 дней назад

"nothing to be afraid of !❤️" *Cue loud intro that startled me so much* 😂

@user-bz8gq2oe5r 9 месяцев назад

I was dreading how I was going to get flies out to feed my jumping spiders, this video showed me everything I need to do. Thanks for doing this video!!

@bugsincyberspace 9 месяцев назад

Thank you very much!

@Ellemenopea97 3 года назад

Your sense of humor and bug nerdiness is very attractive. How do you not have a significant other? You're a catch!

@Outwrage 4 года назад

"Thankfully I don't have a spouse or significant other in any way" just killed me. It's so true, I'm not allowed to keep dubia roaches because of my partner's phobia lol

@bugsincyberspace 4 года назад

Well, let the record show I've spoused up twice previously and am currently enjoying an intermission. ;)

@FatBehaviorReacts 4 года назад

@@bugsincyberspace I nominate me for when the intermission ends, thanks for your consideration. lmao.

@bugsincyberspace 4 года назад

@@FatBehaviorReacts lol, we'll probably both just self-nominate ourselves for the rest of our lives.

@gillianschmitt287 3 года назад

I just got a mantis and shes big enough now to eat house flies and I was freaking out but this video definitely helped. I don't feel like I wanna throw up anymore!! Thanks!!

@bugsincyberspace 3 года назад

lol, I don't know that I've heard a review more equidistant between glowing and glowering. Thank you, Gillian!

@Indydi 6 месяцев назад

I keep mine in my people food fridge. Hubby doesn't even know. 😂 This was really helpful, exactly what I was looking for. Thanks much!

@_lizard_laura_ 4 года назад

Finally a thorough video on flies! I've been struggling to keep mine alive for long. Thanks for making this! It'll save so many flies in my care 😄

@bugsincyberspace 4 года назад

I'm very happy to read your comments, Laura, and I'm glad you found it helpful!

@1bhowdy Год назад

I know this video is now 3 years old but it was perfect .... Just what I was looking for as information needed to start feeding flies for my Jumping Spiders. Thank You

@bugsincyberspace Год назад

Appreciate the time you took to comment. Thank you!

@loisking3536 4 года назад

I love these instructive videos. You are an excellent teacher. Thanks so much for this one. It addresses several problems anyone can encounter when working with winged insects.

@bugsincyberspace 4 года назад

I really appreciate, that Lois. I can only be what I am, and I'm happy to be of service to the community of people I love!

@kitsune0rei Год назад

This was so informative! It's hard to find a lot of info on feeder flies, but they are such a great food choice for a lot of little critters. I like being able to put some pupae in with my jumping spiders, knowing they'll probably hatch later and my spider will find them. I've had a few just eat the pupae. My tip for keeping flies from fleeing longer once they start to wake up from being chilled, is give them a light mist of water from a fingertip sprayer. Their wings will be too heavy for a bit to fly. I've been curious about breeding flies, but it sounds like the process is complex enough it's not worth it small scale. I think they need flight space to mate. I tried with some black soldier flies, but it didn't really work. I've been finding wild black soldier fly larvae swarming in the dirt under the pots of duck food I put out for our neighborhood friends. They seem to really like the spilled duck pellet (Muscovies are messy eaters). I know someone a few doors down does composting, so it may be where they originated from. If I dig them up the ducks love them. They sometimes dig for them themselves.

@DarQue.RaYne.Entertainment 3 года назад

LOL SOFTWARE NOT FOLLOWING. SO CUTE

@bugsincyberspace 4 года назад

Last week I uploaded a video about how my customers "broke" my shop.BugsInCyberspace.com website through an overwhelming volume of orders. I'm grateful to all those customers and to all the viewers watching these videos and commenting and hitting the thumbs up button. Thank you for supporting my efforts to promote and continue participating in the online pet bug hobby that I've dedicated my life to. Through a video I made this morning using the RU-vid Random Comment Picker, three winners were chosen among people commenting in last Friday's video. You can see that video on my Instagram Story area for the next 24 hours. Winners were... 1st Place Invertebrates Magazine copy: _thewildones_ 2nd Place dead leaf mantis sticker by ShapesInNature.com: Wayne Nemec 3rd Place vinegaroon sticker: Sheldan Thorpe Winners, please contact me through my website listed above and thank you for participating!

@junchan_3200 4 года назад

Thank you for the information, last time I bought a hundred of fly and did not hydrate them so they were dried about a month later, but luckily my jumping spider accepted cricket before they all died out.

@jenniferstricklandhighdese8691 4 года назад

Very informative video! I learned where I went wrong with the fly pupae I ordered from you. And Jim is adorable! ❤️

@bugsincyberspace 4 года назад

I rarely use the slightly moist paper towel method personally because I have consistent access to very fresh pupae and so I thought I should mention it if people are seeing those half in/half out flies emerging. I suspect that was the tip you were referring too. One vote for Jim, thank you!!

@lyndsaywilson1134 3 года назад

Just ordered my Shield Mantis from you, I cannot wait! Thank you SO MUCH for all the education and your enthusiasm for our critter friends!

@bugsincyberspace 3 года назад

I appreciate your order and support. Thank you, Lyndsay!

@lorisewsstuff1607 21 день назад

The gimbal was in shock, like did he just put flies in the freezer...again? 😂 Seriously, I accidentally left my golden hydei fruit fly culture in the freezer for about an hour. I use timers from now on. I was really surprised at how many fruit flies survived the ordeal. I had enough left alive to start a new colony. I would not have guessed fruit flies would be that tough.

@Jellyfish527 2 года назад

Thank you for this!! I've had no trouble with hatching, but wasn't sure how to transfer the hatched flies to my jumpers' enclosures without escapees flying around my house (as about 5 currently are).

@bugsincyberspace 2 года назад

Been there! ;)

@SupremeGecko 4 года назад

Great video. It usually take me more than 5 minutes to have my flight muscles deactivated. So much great information. Thanks.

@bugsincyberspace 4 года назад

lol, Wally! I read this comment the other day and really did laugh out loud.

@SupremeGecko 4 года назад

@@bugsincyberspace Anything I can do. ;) Hang in there Peter. Hope things are coming together for you.

@tinasally379 Год назад

Wow!!! Thank you for making this video. My sister told me how to catch flies, but then I was worries of how I can I transfer them to my Lizard's aquarium. Also I didn't know I could buy the flies too 😍😍😍

@bugsincyberspace Год назад

Thank you for your interest and comment, Tina!

@angelajones129 3 года назад

Thank you for making this much needed video.

@bugsincyberspace 3 года назад

Thank you for watching and commenting, Angela!

@waynen5488 4 года назад

Yay I finally won something in a contest! This video is really helpful btw knowing the different feeders.

@JessicaJC626 4 года назад

Good to know! Thank you!

@bugsincyberspace 4 года назад

You're very welcome, Jessica and please let me know if you have any follow up questions!

@SarahDawesFilms Год назад

Brilliant video again 🙏🌈💕 thank you so much. Trying to hatch green bottle pupae for my mantis and haven't got a clue what I'm doing. Your video is so helpful. Thank you 💕🙏👊🌈 xxxx

@Arctic_Morphs 4 месяца назад

great video.

@megandzwieleski6173 3 года назад

Great information, I haven't been able to "hatch" my house fly pupa and it's because I didn't take care of them correctly. Thanks for this info!

@pcossunshine Год назад

I keep my jumping spiders and feeder colonies on the kitchen table 😅. Can’t wait to see what my mom has to say about that when she visits hahahha

@GabrielLycosa 4 года назад

Nice video!!! Congratulation!

@dawson207 4 года назад

Hey Peter! Quick question if you have the time, I've been having an issue with my BBs dying while they are half emerged. It almost looks like the cocoon is strangling them.. Does it sound like a humidity issue? I know you didn't mention it, but is it ok to mist the pupae while they are room temp every couple days or so? Thanks! On a side note, I was refreshing the store about every 15 minutes since 6am EST today for Poop beetles hhaha. Can't wait for them to arrive! Have a great weekend, I hope you guys are able to relax a bit! -Dawson

@bugsincyberspace 4 года назад

Definitely sounds like a humidity issue. Refrigerators will suck the moisture out of things which is why they're always nice and dry inside. Misting the pupae is probably okay but it could cause mold if this action isn't balanced with a ventilated lid. You probably don't want droplets standing on the pupae for any length of time beyond maybe an hour or so. Ideally it is humidity in the air in the form of water vapor, rather than water droplets directly on the pupae. I'm actually working on a little dung beetle clip for TikTok and Instagram right now to help promote those poop beetles a bit. Thanks Dawson!

@Jess-vk6mp 2 года назад

I just went to a reptile expo two days ago and I got a orchid mantis nymph. I also bought some fly pupae for it too and I’m worried the pupae I bought from her won’t hatch since I set them inside the mantis cup last night that by my snakes light for warmth and they haven’t hatched yet. Maybe I’m just impatient. But I know she’s probably pretty hungry by now so I’m thinking I might have to get some fruit flies but they’re way too small for her. Nobody in my area sells bigger flies than that unfortunately. I hope she doesn’t starve to death if they don’t hatch sometime today. Your video is really helpful though. I’ve owned reptiles all my life and even have a successful Dubia colony but I’ve never had a mantis and had to use flies before. One of the things I was worried about was how I would get flies out of a container to feed her without them flying out of the cup everywhere lol. I’m relieved that you can put them in the fridge to keep them from doing that. My husband would kill me if I was the cause for tons of flies going everywhere 😂

@PatientMoney Год назад

Found my tribe... been messing with bsf larvae this past summer and my family thinks I am weird

@FatBehaviorReacts 4 года назад

"meat on their non-bones." I am now deceased.

@CatholicK5357 3 года назад

Thanks for the information. There are two things you said about the soldier flies that I believe you are mistaken on. You said that they are useful for their entire life cycle, meaning that the adults continue to eat compost. Surprisingly, the adults do not eat and do not even have mouths to do so; they only focus on breeding once they become an adult and then they die. The other thing that I think you might be mistaken on is the egg laying. They do not lay their eggs on the substrate directly; but on something above the substrate; then when the eggs hatch, the larvae fall into the substrate. This is why the farms usually have cardboard in the breeding area.

@bugsincyberspace 3 года назад

I appreciate the feedback and opportunity for clarifications, Keith, thank you. On the topic of adults they are very useful as feeders. The folks watching this video aren't focused on the composting topic so much as they are on using them as feeders for pets of various kinds. It's a great point about the cardboard for those dedicated hobbyists that do want to reproduce them though. Most people taking the time to watch this video are likely to purchase them as larvae and not attempt to reproduce them which is what keeps those farms in business, eh? Thanks for watching and commenting.

@ArthropodAmbassadors Год назад

they tend to kill mantises from my experience

@tiberiu_nicolae 3 года назад

How did you get the flower fly to land on your finger?

@bugsincyberspace 3 года назад

It is a function of sunbeams, proximity to other landing options for the flies, and believing something can happen even when you've never seen anybody else do it. You're slightly better off in that way than I was. ;)

@epicpancakes23 3 года назад

I got some green bottle spikes for my jumping spiders, and they are absolutely disgusting to look at lol. I made the mistake of opening the container in my kitchen and a few fell out and even though I was able to catch them, I'm still paranoid that I'm going to find them in my food 🤣

@sumi- Год назад

are black soldier flies safe for mantids? ive heard about some people saying they’ve led to their mantids dying, and some saying it’s only unsafe for some specific species of mantids. i have a chinese mantis and is wondering if you’ve had success feeding them black soldier flies

@tomrobertson6747 2 года назад

I have some Mediterranean Mantids that are an inch and a half long that are probably big enough to eat Blue Bottle flies, but they seem happy eating many Hydei flies at a time. Is there any reason to prefer fewer Blue Bottle flies?

@bugsincyberspace 2 года назад

If your mantis continues to show interest in the small flies, and you have plenty of them, there is no critical reason to make the switch as long as the abdomen of your mantis looks plump. Fruit fly media may provide some additional health benefits to your pet downstream, as well, although that is really just speculation and blue bottle flies may be more nutritious than fruit flies fed on an artificial diet. Not sure if that's been studied in the context of mantis health.

@tomrobertson6747 2 года назад

@@bugsincyberspace I wonder if there's a certain limit to the number of flies that one will eat. I just gave one of mine around 100 and, after eating most of them, it seems to have lost interest even though I don't believe it is fully fed.

@andreahellmann323 2 года назад

Thank you so much for this! About the blue bottle fly spikes... can you tell me how to best get them from spike, to pupae, to adult flies? My jumpers seem to prefer the flies and I'm having a hard time getting them to that stage. Thank you so much in advance! If I missed a video about this I apologize!

@FusionDeveloper 3 года назад

So all you said about feeding houseflies was some sugar water to extend their life as a fly. What do you actually feed the house flies to ensure they will lay eggs and reproduce for you? I know what they CAN eat, but i would think captive bred houseflies would get a more sanitary diet.

@bugsincyberspace 3 года назад

Breeding house flies is not a "hobby" most people will want to get into and is outside the scope of this video, but the few people that do breed them will typically offer a bit of rotting meat to induce egg-laying, as you alluded to. I've known people to use cat food as well.

@tomrobertson6747 2 года назад

Is there a rule of thumb about how many Melanogaster flies equals a Hydei? I've read that Hydei are twice as long, which I assume means they're 8 times as big, but I don't think that's true. I assume they're about 3 times as big, so that feeding a mantis 3 Hydei and 9 Melanogaster are the same.

@InvertebrateDude 4 года назад

Is it weird that flies kinda freak me out a bit? Like roaches, no problem, scorpions, no problem, jerusalem crickets, no problem, but flies? They kinda freak me out a bit, particularly the larger ones, I don't know why.

@bugsincyberspace 4 года назад

Anybody who has ever watched a fly land on their kitchen counter, or worse yet on their dinner, and just observed what they do is deserving of those feelings. There is always a sort of roller coaster out minds ride as we operate from a false narrative of living in a really clean world. A brief examination of the origins of the foods that end up on our tables and the paths they take to get there would terrify anybody. But then we look some more and we see how much our bodies deal with on a constant basis and how many germs we fight off all day, every day and we feel reassured...until a certain invisible novel virus comes along and puts us in our place, eh? Thanks ID and shoot em an email. You won $60 worth of prizes on this RU-vid channel the last couple weeks!

@InvertebrateDude 4 года назад

@@bugsincyberspace I've sat and watched house flies just do what they do out of interest on multiple occasions, I'm not scared of them per say, nor do I hate most dipterans... (Phorid flies are an exception) I just don't really like touching them. 😅 Weirdly though, on the other hand, rearing a human botfly in myself is on my bucket list, so explain that. 😂 I've actually messaged you on IG about the contests! 😅 But I can shoot you an email instead if you prefer!

@treydustin6515 3 года назад

Should I keep blue bottle flies in refrigerator once they turn to flies to prolong their lives? And take out every few days to feed them honey and water?

@bugsincyberspace 3 года назад

Yep, that's a confirmed way to prolong their lives but never put all your eggs in one basket. You might try a couple different methods in terms of amount of time in the fridge for different groups of the same batch of flies to maximize your results (or in case something goes wrong with one batch).

@andreahellmann323 2 года назад

Sorry to overload with questions! Is the coconut fiber moist when you put it in and then mix the coffee grounds? Thank you for your help!!!

@richmondlandersenfells2238 3 года назад

Better start grabbing some flies!

@BethyKateM 4 года назад

I have some soldier fly larva in some soil in a container. I’ve feed them leftover veggies, fruits, and sometimes grains. I’ve had them for about 2 weeks now. But can they also be refrigerated like the house flies or are they more fragile? Thanks so much!! 😊

@bugsincyberspace 4 года назад

Yes, the can be and it will slow them down.

@BethyKateM 4 года назад

Bugs In Cyberspace by the way... I sent you an email. 😊

@gabriellebyczek6692 Год назад

Where can I buy the containers with the flies? I have been purchasing from someone else the past year but I do not see the option to buy containers.

@k9wolfblood819 Год назад

My dogs and cats will eat the larvae and flies lol

@mitch201211 2 года назад

Hi can I ask what is the size difference between curly wing fly an house fly

@bugsincyberspace 2 года назад

Please clarify. Do you mean a curly wing fruit fly, and a house fly?

@JustSinaaax 7 месяцев назад

I had them out for over 24 hours and they still haven’t hatched

@abbyrose4409 2 года назад

I accidently put pupae in the freezer for close to 15min the one fly that was in there died, is there any chance the pupa survived?

@bugsincyberspace 2 года назад

Yes, a very good chance that many of them will hatch. Of course, best to treat them like they will in any case!

@abbyrose4409 2 года назад

@@bugsincyberspace Thank you!!!

@IAMGiftbearer 8 месяцев назад

Do you sell moth pupae? I am looking for some for my anoles.

@bugsincyberspace 8 месяцев назад

I'm sorry but I do not at this time.

@tristan2224 2 года назад

I order house fly pupae from you.wen I got them they had white stuff that was growing on there shell. My fridge is the kind that stays humid. The pupae got bigger but then the white stuff grew more on them its been over a month and none have hatched. Do you think it's mold? Do you think they will hatch?

@bugsincyberspace 2 года назад

Just saw this message, Tristan, and know that we talked about this through email already around the same time you left the message here or so but I'll answer it here publicly too because one or two other people have made the same observation about the whitish coating over the many years I've been offering these. The powdery material you saw on them was corn starch which is added intentionally during harvesting to wick up moisture and helps prevent them from sticking together during storage and transit. Your email had indicated that you have a "humid kind of fridge" which I had said I wasn't familiar with and of course conditions of high humidity will promote growth of actual mold in some cases as you will see with produce and other things left in the fridge too long. As noted in the video you can't leave them in the fridge for a solid month w/o pulling them out rather frequently to allow them to warm up and develop. And they must be left out to hatch. This is also noted on the sales page. Your letters didn't indicate whether you pulled them out or not but after a month I'd guess they will not hatch in any case.

@lavondysswoods1621 2 года назад

How long will the hatched flies last in fridge if too many hatched?

@Patrick-ni7bs 4 года назад

Since those meal worms turn into beatles do you know what type of Beatles turn into

@bugsincyberspace 4 года назад

Mealworms simply turn into mealworm beetles. That's what they are called.

@AriBenDavid 4 года назад

@@bugsincyberspace Also called darkling beetles, I believe. I tried feeding one to a mantis and she found it distasteful.

@bugsincyberspace 4 года назад

@@AriBenDavid Some mantises are more or less interested in mealworms. Some people rely on them as a feeder for their mantises, but more often in the winter months when other food options are scarce.

@elisewest6524 4 года назад

I just got an F3 Chinese Mantis and wonder if I can take outside Blue Bottle flies and breed them ?

@bugsincyberspace 4 года назад

Breeding flies is complicated process and rather stinky. There are care sheets on the forum I host called Mantidform.net

@elisewest6524 4 года назад

@@bugsincyberspace Think I'll just stick to Crickets .Meal worms and caught flies .Say I want to give my Mantis a Bio active home .I put in some gravel for drainage and some great soil we have in our garden .So great it's growing little mushrooms .Then from there not sure what to add? I'm in Ontario so getting any springtails is impossible and there's those little bugs that roll up into a ball running around all over the place here .

@joshuaratayczak4847 3 года назад

I'm getting green bottle fly spikes how to care through maggots to adult flies?

@bugsincyberspace 3 года назад

Are you sure they "green" and not blue bottle fly spikes?

@joshuaratayczak4847 3 года назад

@@bugsincyberspace yes I didn't order from you I order from Josh's frogs.

@bugsincyberspace 3 года назад

@@joshuaratayczak4847 They have care info on their page which I just found in 15 seconds after you replied. ;)

@sharanyaudupa5690 3 года назад

How do I transfer the flies from one container to another?

@bugsincyberspace 3 года назад

Pop them in the fridge for a bit to cool their flight muscles down and then tap them all to the bottom. Pop the lids, dump and tap, dump and tap.

@insectilluminatigetshrekt5574 4 года назад

What do you think of flies as pets themselves?

@bugsincyberspace 4 года назад

I think you have a thoughtful, open mind. Anything removed of its natural setting by a human is conceivably a pet. In some sense we are all pets of one another.

@insectilluminatigetshrekt5574 4 года назад

@@bugsincyberspace have you considered robber flies or drain flies? Those are my favorite dipterans