Fruit fly cultures

[Martin Whaley]

Hey,
Strange question, but does anyone have a rough idea of how long it take for fruit-flies to pupate?

I have a bunch of hungry mantis nymphs and spiderlings, and a bunch of fruit-fly maggots / chrysalis....but no flies themselves!

[Colin D Wilson]

Normally within a few days really if they're warm enough.

after recent debates and developments, it's best to offer other foodstuffs as well as the fruit flies (regarding spiderlings primarily) as they're not considered to be a "nutritionally complete" foodstuff.

[Martin Whaley]

Yep, I mainly feed my slings on small crix. They're big enough now to take these on. The mantids will only take fruit flies however.

I'm down to about 38 out of the original 200+ that hatched out of the ooth a week or so back....don't want to risk them starving now too..!!

[Peter Lacey]

Martin, get yourself out in the garden, chomp off some leaves/branches with green fly and aphids on and put that in with the mantids - my 6 chinese mantids are looking great on these. Just make sure the flies haven't been sprayed! I've found they're also partial to ants!

[James Box]

Martin, i fed my mantid nymph a tiny cricket, around size 1. the mantid took it without hesitation and made it disappear very quickly!
given that mantids eat loads of different things in the wild, i reckon they can do with a variety besides fruit flies in captivity as well.