# Mites in fruit fly cultures (Drosophilia Hydei)



## utterbeastage (Apr 4, 2009)

Ordered in two fruit fly cultures from Livefoods UK about two weeks ago and moved the more successful hatch to a larger container with my own substrate , it's my first time breeding my own culture but it seems that every time I order in cultures from livefoods uk there are ALWAYS mites, maybe a little at first but they always multiply and fill the container.
The fruit flie shave laid eggs and there are plenty of larvae about , but will the mites kill them off before they pupate?
and is it safe to use anti-mite paper?

either that or can someone simply reccomend me a mite-free culture seller?


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## iiisecondcreep (Oct 29, 2007)

Saw a thread on another forum recently where someone had got crickets from Livefoods UK with mites.

I have been using livefoods home - crickets, mealworms, insects, and frozen foods for reptiles for around 10yrs now and I have never had any problems at all with mites or anything else.


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## macro junkie (Oct 27, 2007)

every culture has mites in..the trick is to try and reduce is as low as possible.at 1 point my cultures where crammed with them..now tbh i dont see any in any of my cultures..thats because i only get 2 hatches from the culture then it gets binned.the older and longer and wetter the culture goes on for the greater the chance of getting lots of mites.

when you make a new culture dont tap the flies straight out of the old culture in to the new one as your be tapping mites in there as well..best to tap all the flies in to a tub thats lined with wet toilet roll.then transfer the flies from the tub to the new culture.


Livefoods UK do have a bit of a problem with mites but there cultures always produce well..its that excesor they use..its perfect for mites.i use brilo pads or car sponge which for some reason dont attract the mites as much.

just make your own and this wont happen

next culture you buy try it from dartfrog. There cultures are very clean.

as for mite paper you do know u cant put it in the culture right?its just for placing the culture on out side so if mites get out of the tub they die on the paper instead of crawling on your table ect.


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## Ozgi (Jun 1, 2008)

Are the mites actually harmful? What do they look like? I see lots of tiny white dots in my cultures, but are these mites or eggs?


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## iiisecondcreep (Oct 29, 2007)

Ozgi said:


> Are the mites actually harmful? What do they look like? I see lots of tiny white dots in my cultures, but are these mites or eggs?


Have a read at this:
Arachnophiles Forum - View Single Post - i have lost inspiration

Re the dots, if they're mites they'll move


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## macro junkie (Oct 27, 2007)

Ozgi said:


> Are the mites actually harmful? What do they look like? I see lots of tiny white dots in my cultures, but are these mites or eggs?


 nah thete mot harmful..juts a pain in the ass..last year some how a ant got in to 1 of my cultures..the mites loved him i dont think the ant loved them tho:lol2:


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## utterbeastage (Apr 4, 2009)

macro junkie said:


> every culture has mites in..the trick is to try and reduce is as low as possible.at 1 point my cultures where crammed with them..now tbh i dont see any in any of my cultures..thats because i only get 2 hatches from the culture then it gets binned.the older and longer and wetter the culture goes on for the greater the chance of getting lots of mites.
> 
> when you make a new culture dont tap the flies straight out of the old culture in to the new one as your be tapping mites in there as well..best to tap all the flies in to a tub thats lined with wet toilet roll.then transfer the flies from the tub to the new culture.
> 
> ...



Ill give dartfrog a go, th emites aren't usually that much a problem because they don't really climb up to the top where the flies are but it would be good to have this culture going.
I reckon I'll start a bluebottle culture in the next few days for my congo green , makes mite control easier


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## macro junkie (Oct 27, 2007)

utterbeastage said:


> Ill give dartfrog a go, th emites aren't usually that much a problem because they don't really climb up to the top where the flies are but it would be good to have this culture going.
> I reckon I'll start a bluebottle culture in the next few days for my congo green , makes mite control easier


 not as easy as you might think..tbh its not worth the hassle..do u know how big the enclose has to be to culture blue bottles?alot bigger than a frute fly culture thats for sure.and they feed on dog food/..bloody gross if u ask me..at 2.75£ for 1 pint of maggots imo theres no need to try to culture them your self..alot of people have tried it and it sounds to me more trouble that its worth.


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## utterbeastage (Apr 4, 2009)

macro junkie said:


> not as easy as you might think..tbh its not worth the hassle..do u know how big the enclose has to be to culture blue bottles?alot bigger than a frute fly culture thats for sure.and they feed on dog food/..bloody gross if u ask me..at 2.75£ for 1 pint of maggots imo theres no need to try to culture them your self..alot of people have tried it and it sounds to me more trouble that its worth.



that makes so much sense to me , I tried culturing them , the castors hatched and everything but the flies never laid , Ill stick to buying haha


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## garlicpickle (Jan 16, 2009)

macro junkie said:


> nah thete mot harmful..juts a pain in the ass..last year some how a ant got in to 1 of my cultures..the mites loved him i dont think the ant loved them tho:lol2:


could be a good way of getting rid of the mites, just put a few ants in there.


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## macro junkie (Oct 27, 2007)

garlicpickle said:


> could be a good way of getting rid of the mites, just put a few ants in there.


 nah im not that crule..im an insect lover


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## utterbeastage (Apr 4, 2009)

macro junkie said:


> nah im not that crule..im an insect lover



haha, I reckon I should create a tiny dyson to hoover them up


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