What is the best fruit fly food?
Fruit flies are not fussy. In fact you will probably find them living on all sorts of things - old fruit, cereals, bread etc. When organic matter ferments, they are never far away. However, when we culture flies we need to be provide food for both adults and larvae, and it has to be a food, or media, that is long lasting, and of a suitable consistency to remain in place when the fly containers are inverted. The adults eat yeasts at the surface, whilst the larvae bury down into the media.
I use the Sussex mix, but have included two commonly used, and much simpler recipes. The Sussex mix is a bit of a chore to make up, but it's use solves all of the problems of 'quick' recipes, and is by far the best choice if large numbers of flies are needed.
Drosophila media recipes
- Banana - Bunch of bananas, 1/2 cup sugar, packet of oats, 1 packet bakers yeast. Blend it all together! Mold inhibitors if available.
- Potato - 1 part bakers yeast to 10 parts mash potato mix. Add hot water! Mold inhibitors if available.
- Sussex Mix - Add 100g maize meal to 95g sugar (or molasses), 6g agar, 19g bakers yeast to 1 litre of water. Bring to the boil stirring from time to time. This mix must boil for several minutes to activate the agar. Leave to cool for a while and then stir in 2g Nipagin (methylparaben) or perhaps try tegosept or calcium propionate (mold inhibitor used in bread) and any vitamins (I use dog multivitamins). As it cools, it sets into a gel-like solid. The media can be stored either in small vials that you will keep the flies in, or in a larger container that the media can be decanted from.
Fruit fly food recipe: ingredients for Sussex mix
The mix is mainly water, and needs agar to solidify it
Once it has boiled for a few minutes, the mix gets considerably thicker
The media is for the larvae, the adult flies eat yeast sprinkled on top
I strongly recommend the Sussex mix. It is long lasting, solid enough to stay in its vial when tapped upside down, and meets all the nutritional needs of the larvae. It also remains moist for a week or more, and it's life can be prolonged with a drop of water or two.
Other media can feed the flies adequately, but are often insufficiently solid when the vials are inverted to collect flies. They are very often too wet (banana) or too dry (mash potato}. This is much less of a problem for those that keep amphibians, who can place the culture within the animals enclosure. But for fish keepers, the flies must be collected. The Sussex media sets as a semi-rigid gel, which makes handling the flies incredibly easy.
If your chosen media is too wet, adding wood shavings can keep the media in place (to some extent) and provide dry walkways for the emerged flies to climb up onto. This is never required with the Sussex media, but always required with a banana based media.
Whatever recipe you follow, it will feed the larvae, but not the parent flies; all food should be sprinkled with brewers yeast (not the bakers yeast used in the recipes above) immediately before adding the adult flies. Not only does this provide a source of food for the flies, but also ensures the surface is dry, and the delicate flies will not get stuck down in sticky media.
Fruit fly cultures for sale
Killi.co.uk is funded by its visitors. When you buy through links on our site we may earn an affiliate commission. For more info see
terms and conditions.
Xenia, Ohio, 453**, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
$15
What You??re Buying
Live, producing Black melanogaster flightless fruit fly culture. Cultures ship fresh and are ideal for reptiles, amphibians, invertebrates, and small insectivores
Why Black melanogaster
Black melanogaster are smaller than hydei and ideal for pets that need a slightly smaller feeder
Culture Notes
Cultures require 7??14 days after arrival to become fully productive. Plan feedings accordingly
Shipping & Handling
Shipped carefully with insulation when ...
more
West Palm Beach, Florida, 334**, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
$10
? A fruit fly feeding dish to help keep flies from scattering throughout the enclosure. Keeping flies in a dish can be challenging. This dish helps by providing a "moat" around the feeder, which can be filled with a little water to keep flies from easily running off the feeding platform. It also has nubs that stick up in the middle to give more surface area for the flies to climb up on, making them more visible to your reptile and / or amphibian. This was primarily made for my dart frogs, but...
more
Xenia, Ohio, 453**, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
$15
What You??re Buying
Live, producing Black Hydei flightless fruit fly culture. Cultures ship fresh and are ideal for reptiles, amphibians, invertebrates, and small insectivores
Why Golden Hydei
Black hydei are larger than melanogaster and ideal for pets that need a slightly bigger feeder
Culture Notes
Cultures require 7??14 days after arrival to become fully productive. Plan feedings accordingly
Shipping & Handling
Shipped carefully with insulation when required. Live ...
more
Cleveland, Georgia, 305**, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
$40
??PLEASE READ BEFORE PURCHASING??
(WHAT YOU RECEIVE)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FRUIT FLY: Drosophila Hydei (flightless)
SIZE: 1 / 8?? inches (larger than melanogaster fruit flies)
COUNT: 50+ (will produce prolifically)
(BASIC INFO)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LIVE FOOD SOURCE FOR: Dart Frogs, Jumping Spiders, Praying
Mantis, Mantids, Morning Geckos, ...
more
Huntsville, Texas, 773**, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
$19
32oz Flightless Fruit Fly Culture ?? Live Feeder Insect Culture for Reptiles, Amphibians & Invertebrates
Our 32oz Flightless Fruit Fly Culture is a great choice for keepers who need a reliable supply of small live feeder insects for reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates. These cultures are ideal for dart frogs, mantises, spiderlings, small geckos, and other insectivorous animals that thrive on small moving prey
This larger 32oz culture size is a convenient option for hobbyists, ...
more
