Fruit Flies

Posts and questions relating to ant diet & nutrition. Let us know what you’re feeding your ants.

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Reevak

Fruit Flies

Post: # 15178Post Reevak
Sun Dec 04, 2016 10:47 pm

I know some people feed Fruit Flies to their ants, but how do you get them? I've never seen any store that sells them, or at least I don't remember any stores that do. Do you order them online? Is their a specific website? Also, are they wingless or just flightless?

Reevak

Re: Fruit Flies

Post: # 15179Post Reevak
Sun Dec 04, 2016 10:48 pm

Also aren't flies usually not good to feed to ants because of bacteria or parasites or something? Or are fruit flies different?

GriffinAnt

Re: Fruit Flies

Post: # 15180Post GriffinAnt
Sun Dec 04, 2016 11:36 pm

wingless fruitfly on ebay

Serafine

Re: Fruit Flies

Post: # 15185Post Serafine
Mon Dec 05, 2016 3:17 am

Reevak wrote:I know some people feed Fruit Flies to their ants, but how do you get them? I've never seen any store that sells them, or at least I don't remember any stores that do.
I have them as pests in my house - first time they are actually useful :D
Reevak wrote:Do you order them online? Is their a specific website? Also, are they wingless or just flightless?
They have curly wings and while they can't fly they can still mount some pretty impressive jumps. It is recommended to put them into the fridge for a minute before you pick some out so they are lazy and don't jump all over the place.
Reevak wrote:Also aren't flies usually not good to feed to ants because of bacteria or parasites or something? Or are fruit flies different?
You just dip them into boiling water for 5-10 seconds- all bacteria and parasites gone.

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Batspiderfish
Posts: 3315
Joined: Wed Jun 29, 2016 3:47 pm
Location: Maine

Re: Fruit Flies

Post: # 15191Post Batspiderfish
Mon Dec 05, 2016 8:55 am

Fruit flies are easily available in pet shops, particularly the ones that carry fish, frogs, and reptiles. Many wild flies are bad to give to your ants because of their resistance and potential exposure to pesticides. Fruit flies are apparently vulnerable to mite infestations much in the way that ants are, but I have never needed to boil my flies.
If you enjoy my expertise and identifications, please do not put wild populations at risk of disease by releasing pet colonies. We are responsible to give our pets the best care we can manage for the rest of their lives.

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shaky33
Posts: 161
Joined: Wed Sep 28, 2016 4:19 am
Location: Melbourne Victoria
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Re: Fruit Flies

Post: # 16512Post shaky33
Sat Jan 28, 2017 4:43 pm

I've found that my colonies absolutely love fruit flies. They are also very easy to get a hold of.
- Rhytidoponera metallica
- Camponotus consobrinus x2
- **** sp.
- Nylanderia sp.
- Melaphorus sp.
- Camponotus cairns
- Crematogaster sp.
- Colobopsis sp.
- Myrmecia nigrocinta
- Iridomyrmex purpureus
- Camponotus eastwoodi

Serafine

Re: Fruit Flies

Post: # 16520Post Serafine
Sat Jan 28, 2017 6:49 pm

One note there - if you buy fruit flies at a pet shop watch how big their abdomens are and if needed give them some food before you feed them to your ants. Also make sure the container they are in is relatively clean.

My ants LOVE the wild fruit flies that dwell in my kitchen but they outright refused the ones from the pet shop (in fact when I put them into their tube they examined them very skeptically and then dumped them into the outworld like they do with their waste).

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shaky33
Posts: 161
Joined: Wed Sep 28, 2016 4:19 am
Location: Melbourne Victoria
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Re: Fruit Flies

Post: # 16527Post shaky33
Sat Jan 28, 2017 7:52 pm

Serafine wrote:One note there - if you buy fruit flies at a pet shop watch how big their abdomens are and if needed give them some food before you feed them to your ants. Also make sure the container they are in is relatively clean.

My ants LOVE the wild fruit flies that dwell in my kitchen but they outright refused the ones from the pet shop (in fact when I put them into their tube they examined them very skeptically and then dumped them into the outworld like they do with their waste).
How do you catch the fruit flies? My method is probably not the most efficient.
- Rhytidoponera metallica
- Camponotus consobrinus x2
- **** sp.
- Nylanderia sp.
- Melaphorus sp.
- Camponotus cairns
- Crematogaster sp.
- Colobopsis sp.
- Myrmecia nigrocinta
- Iridomyrmex purpureus
- Camponotus eastwoodi

Serafine

Re: Fruit Flies

Post: # 16529Post Serafine
Sat Jan 28, 2017 9:14 pm

I have a transparent plastic cup and a plastic card thingy so I just drop the cup on them while they sit on the wall and then push the card below it. Then I put the thing over a glass of water remove the card and tap against the cup so the fruit fly falls into the water and drowns (you can also use boiling water which instantly kills them). Then I put them into a box and in the freezer. Later I feed them to may ants one by one.
I already caught about a hundred fruit flies with that method over the last week or so.

However I'm currently trying to make it more effective. I have prepared a plastic cup with potato skin (fruit flies love it) and when they go in I will just close it, wait for them to hatch and then put the entire thing into the freezer.
It's basically a small primitive fruit fly farm.

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