Providing Quality Fruit Flies Since 2004

Introduction

Since 2004, Josh’s Frogs has produced our own fruit fly media and cultures. Demand for both products continue to grow, and we thought we’d share what goes in to providing thousands of high quality fruit fly cultures to the pet trade.

Media

Let’s start by discussing Josh’s Frogs Fruit Fly Media. We are the only company to offer specific medias for the two most popular species of fruit flies – Drosophila melanogaster and D. hydei. Both will do well on either media, but will truly thrive on their specific media. Josh’s Frogs Fruit Fly media is enriched with vitamins, minerals, and other ingredients to insure the best nutrition possible. Methyl paraben, a food grade ingredient, is used to prevent mold growth. Our media is easy to use, inexpensive, and is known for it’s ability to produce thousands of flies. Demand continues to grow – in 2011, we sold over 11 tons of Josh’s Frogs Fruit Fly media, all produced right here in Owosso, Michigan. By buying ingredients in quantities larger than the average consumer (we buy potato flake by the ton), we’re able to provide a top quality product cheaper than you’d be able to if you made it yourself!

We made and sold over 12 tons of fruit fly media last year!

Making the Fruit Fly Cultures

Every week, staff at Josh’s Frogs makes over 1000 fruit fly cultures. This may seem a daunting process, but it can easily be broken down into several basic steps.

Step 1: Bring water to a boil – we boil filtered water 16 gallons at a time using 4 large coffee urns.

Step 2: Place ½ cup of Josh’s Frogs Fruit Fly Media in a 32oz insect cup.

Step 3: Add 2/3 cup boiling water. We do not mix the water and media – the fruit fly larvae will do that for us!

Step 4: Add excelsior – this provides surface area for the flies to crawl and lay their eggs on. It also keeps the culture intact during shipping.

Step 5: Allow media to cool. We cover the cultures at this point to prevent contamination from flying flies.

Step 6: Add 50-100 fruit flies.

Step 7: Cover culture with a vented insect cup lid.

Caring for Cultures

After the cultures are made, they are incubated in a special ‘bug room’, which is maintained at 78F and a humidity of 70% – optimum conditions for fruit flies. We store the cultures in plastic storage drawers – each drawer holds a dozen cultures, making it easier to transport them around the facility, as well as maintaining the proper humidity in the culture. Paper towels, innoculated with mite spray, are placed in the bottom of each drawer. Between batches, all of the storage drawers are sterilized with bleach.

All of our cultures are incubated at 78F in our bug room.

Every storage drawer is sterilized between each batch of flies.

Conclusion

Josh’s Frogs is the leading producer of 32oz Fruit Fly cultures in the world – we shipped out over 30,000 cultures last year! We strive to provide the pet industry with quality cultures – hopefully, this blog post illustrates the challenges of being the industry leader, and shows how we meet and exceed those challenges.

A Comparison of Drosophila melanogaster and D. hydei

Introduction

Fruit flies (Drosophila sp.) are a common feeder insect when animals that require small prey items are involved, such as dart frogs. Although several different species have made the rounds in the hobby, 2 have consistently been cultured over the years, and remain the most common and easy to work with.

Fruit flies are easy to culture, making them one of the most popular feeder insects for animals requiring small prey items.

Drosophila melanogaster

Drosophila melanogaster (also know as melanogaster, melanos, or mels) are probably the most commonly encountered species of fruit fly in culture, and measure about 1/16^th of an inch long, making them ideal as the staple food for a variety of dart frogs and other animals that prefer smaller prey items. Melanogaster fruit flies have been used to years in genetics experiments around the world, and as such, there are several different genetic mutations of them available. Perhaps the most useful to the average hobbyist is the ‘wingless’ form. These flies lack wings, and as such are unable to fly. Unlike the ‘flightless’ D. melanogaster, the wingless form cannot regain the ability to fly if it gets too warm (the ‘flightless’ deformation is linked to protein folding – if the flies reach a certain temperature, the proteins fold properly and the next generation will be able to fly). The ‘wingless’ trait is recessive – both parents have to carry the trait in order for the offspring to remain wingless. If a ‘wild type’ fly (one with wings) mates with a ‘wingless’ fly, the offspring will be able to fly.

Drosophila melanogaster are a smaller fruit fly, measuring about 1/16” long.

The life cycle of Drosophila melanogaster is very quick. Within 14 days of setting up a new culture, the next generation of flies is emerging. After that 14 day waiting period, new flies emerge every day. This quick generation time means that the culture will produce thousands of flies, fairly consistently, from day 14-28, when the culture is disposed of. Because of this, melanogaster fruit flies are generally preferred by those who are new to culturing fruit flies – melanogaster tend to be more forgiving and easier to culture consistently.

Melanogaster fruit fly cultures will produce thousands of flies over a 28 day period.

Drosophila hydei

Drosophila hydei (also known simply as hydei) are another commonly encountered fruit fly in the hobby. Hydei measure about 1/8”, and are quite a bit larger and ‘meatier’ than D. melanogaster – perfectly suited for dart frogs that prefer larger prey items, or other pets with similar needs. A ‘flightless’ form of hydei is most commonly available – this strain will not revert back to fliers at a higher temperature, unlike ‘flightless’ melanogaster. Like the ‘wingless’ form of melanogaster, this trait is recessive, requiring both parents to carry the trait in order for the offspring to be flightless. Every care should be taken to insure that flying Drosophila hydei do not get into the culture, as the resulting flying insects can quickly become a nuisance.

Drosophila hydei are a larger fruit fly, measuring about 1/8” long.

Compared to that of D. melanogaster, the life cycle of D. hydei is much longer. At average temperatures, it will take 21 days or more until the first new hydei being emerging in a culture. Hydei fruit fly cultures show a particular ‘boom and bust’ cycle – the culture will appear empty, only to suddenly be filled with flies overnight. Most cultures will have 2-3 booms, with 5-7 days between each one. With the large period of time between active booms, hydei cultures are much more likely to dry out than melanogaster, and as such are more prone to crashes and grain mite infestations.

Drosophila hydei fruit fly cultures are more prone to drying out and crashing, due to their ‘boom and bust’ life cycle.

Conclusion

Both species of fruit flies popular in culture are relatively easy to culture. Generally speaking, Drosophila melanogaster – the smaller fruit fly – is easier to culture for novices, and is perfectly suited for most species of dart frogs. Drosophila hydei – the larger fruit fly – will produce more ‘meat’ over the life of the culture, but is more suceptible to crashes.

Next week, we’ll take a look at what goes in to producing all of the fruit fly cultures at Josh’s Frogs.

The In and Outs of Isopods

by Zach Brinks

Introduction

The term ‘microfauna’ literally translates to “small animals”, and refers to small arthropods, such as springtails and isopods (aka rollie-pollies, pill bugs, wood louse). These invertebrates serve several important functions in the home vivaria: they act as tank janitors, helping to break down dead plant matter and uneaten food. They also provide the vivarium inhabitants with an extra in-house snack, and aid in nutrient cycling. This week, we will focus on isopods, also known as rollie-pollies, potato bugs, pill bugs, and wood louse. Isopods inhabit most anywhere in the world, but for the purposes of the vivaria, mainly tropical species are used.

Types of Isopods

There are thousands of species of isopods, but we mainly work with 4 different species: dwarf whites, purple, dwarf gray striped, and giant orange.

From left to right: Dwarf Gray Stripe, Dwarf White, Purple, and Giant Orange isopods.

Dwarf White Isopods

These isopods are very small and softer bodied (less calcium?) than the other species we work with, making them an excellent prey animal. They also tend to reproduce fairly quickly, making them one of the easiest isopods to culture. These are considered to be the ‘original’ isopods in the trade, as they have been cultured the longest.

Purple Isopods

Purple isopods really are not all that purple – they are more of a light grayish- purple at the best. They are a smaller species, being just a little larger than the dwarf white isopods. These are fairly slow to culture, but do culture faster than the Giant Orange isopods.

Dwarf Gray Striped Isopods

Dwarf Gray Striped isopods culture faster than any other isopods we’ve worked with. Not only do they populate a culture quickly, but they also reproduce exponentially in the vivarium, often out-competing other varieties of isopods. These are probably the best isopods to culture as a food source.

Giant Orange Isopods

As the name suggest, Giant Orange isopods are large and bright orange. They are slow to culture, but reach a much larger adult size compared to most other isopods in captivity. These make great tank janitors, as adults are generally too large for most species of dart frogs to consume. They will eat waste, leaf litter, and uneaten food in the vivarium, while the frogs consume baby isopods.

Housing Isopods

We keep our isopods in plastic KIS shoe boxes. At one end, a soldering iron is used to melt 3 small holes in the upper portion of one small side, below the lid clasp. This will create a humidity gradient across the culture, and allow for a small bit of air flow.

Use a soldering iron to melt small holes in one side of the culture. This will increase the air flow to the culture, and allow one side of the culture to dry out. We feed on this side, as it reduces the amount of mold in the culture.

The shoebox is filled with 3” of ABG mix and ground leaf litter, at a proportion of approximately 3:1. The mix is wet beforehand, so that it is moist, but not dripping excess water. On top of the substrate, multiple layers of clean corrugated cardboard is placed. This allows the isopods extra shelter, as well as an additional food source. Most species seem to be more productive when kept in the mid to high 70s F, and slightly moist.

Side profile of a typical isopod culture.

Feeding Isopods

Isopods will feed upon a wide variety of foods. We primarily feed fresh fruit and veggie scraps – they seem particularly fond of zucchini. Occasionally, we offer high quality dog food kibble, mushroom, and dried fish food flakes. Be careful when offering grain-based foods – these can and will attract mites, which can reduce the productivity of the culture, if not cause it to crash outright.

Fish flake makes a good food for isopods.

Adding Isopods to the Vivarium

Isopods will spend the majority of their time burrowed in the substrate of their culture, making it difficult to add them to a vivarium. Fortunately, they have a habit of seeking shelter in the cardboard pieces provided in the culture. Simply pick up the cardboard and shake it over a container, expelling any resident isopods. These can then be added to the vivarium, or used to start an additional isopod culture.

Conclusion

Isopods, although not necessary to successfully keeping dart frogs, certainly make proper husbandry easier. They play an important function in the home vivaria – mainly as nutrient cyclers and an additional food source, and also function as an excellent secondary source of calcium. They are simple to keep and culture at home.

Next week, we will discuss the care of Dendrobatid eggs and tadpoles.

The In and Outs of Springtails

by Zach Brinks

Introduction

The term ‘microfauna’ literally translates to “small animals”, and refers to small arthropods, such as springtails and isopods (aka rollie-pollies, pill bugs, wood louse). These invertebrates serve several important functions in the home vivaria: they act as tank janitors, helping to break down dead plant matter and uneaten food. They also provide the vivarium inhabitants with an extra in-house snack, and aid in nutrient cycling. This week, we will focus on springtails, arthropods belonging to the group Collembola.

Housing Springtails

Springtails are most commonly housed in plastic shoebox-sized containers outside the vivarium, although they can be kept in a variety of containers. The key is to select a container that is not completely air tight, allowing the culture to ‘breathe’ slightly. I prefer the KIS brand plastic shoe boxes (~$2) available at K-mart.

Springtail cultures should contain 3-4” of charcoal, with about 1” of distilled, reverse osmosis, or dechlorinated water on the bottom.

There are many different options for springtail substrate, with charcoal or coconut fiber being the most common. I prefer small chunk charcoal, with pieces being approximately 1/2” long. The charcoal is washed to remove dust, then it is added to the container at a depth of 3-4”. Dechlorinated, reverse osmosis, or distilled water is added to a depth of 1”.

Feeding Springtails

As with bedding, opinions vary greatly concerning what to feed your springtails. At JoshsFrogs.com, we exclusively use uncooked white rice. Dart frog keepers have used mushroom (both fresh and dried), fish food, vegetable scraps, and dog food with success. I’ve found that grain-based foods (such as dog food, breads, and the like) tend to attract mites, which will overrun the culture and eventually cause it’s downfall.

Springtails will not directly eat the food you are feeding the culture, but will feast on the mold that grows on it.

Remember, the springtails will not be eating the actual food placed in the culture, but will feed mainly on the mold that grows on it. With uncooked white rice, the mold forms a low-growing mat that allows us to go several weeks between feedings.

Adding Springtails to the Vivarium

One of the benefits of using charcoal as a springtail culture substrate is the ease in removing springtails from the culture. Springtails tend to float, while saturated charcoal does not. Add additional distilled, dechlorinated, or reverse osmosis water to the springtail culture, and simply pour out the springtails directly into the vivarium. It’s that simple, and a lot less of a hassle than other methods.

Due to their small size, springtails do not break the surface tension of the water, and therefore float, making it easy to pour springtails out of a culture with a charcoal substrate.

Conclusion

Springtails (Collembola), although not necessary to successfully keeping dart frogs, certainly make proper husbandry easier. They play an important function in the home vivaria – mainly as nutrient cyclers and an additional food source. They are simple to keep and culture at home.

Next week, we will explore the culturing of isopods for vivarium use.

Blaptica dubia roaches have recently become a common feeder insect for various animals, due to the ease of culture, cleanliness, fast reproductive rate, high protein to chitin content, nutritional value, and size range of Blaptica dubia. Blaptica dubia roach cultures do not have an odor when maintained properly. Blaptica dubia roaches cannot climb smooth surfaces or fly, making escapee Blaptica dubia roaches unlikely. Blaptica dubia roaches also do not make noise, a pleasant bonus when compared to the traditional feeder insect, the cricket.

Natural history:

Blaptica dubia Roaches, also known at the Orange Spotted Roach or Guiana Spotted Roach, are native to Central and Northern South America. Blaptica dubia roaches are larger roaches, measuring from 1.5-2 inches. Blaptica dubia roaches are sexually dimorphic, with male Blaptica dubia roaches possessing complete wings, and female Blaptica dubia roaches possess wing buds.

Female:

Habitat:

Here at Josh’s Frogs, we keep our Blaptica dubia roaches in large opaque Sterilite brand plastic tubs. Darker tubs allow Blaptica dubia roaches to remain active 24/7, resulting in faster growth and reproduction. Because Blaptica dubia roaches cannot climb smooth plastic, a top is not needed, and allows for proper ventilation. Glass aquariums work, just note that Blaptica dubia nymphs will climb silicone, so a tight-fitting screen top is a must when culturing Blaptica dubia in glass containers.

Heat is provided by a 150w ceramic heat emitter positioned above the culture. Another option to heat Blaptica dubia roaches would be a heating mat. Keeping Blaptica dubia roaches warm is important, as the warmer Blaptica dubia roaches are kept, the faster Blaptica dubia roaches will reproduce.

High humidity is also important, which we provide by providing a substrate of 2 inches of coco bedding that we routinely add water to. You do not want the Blaptica dubia culture to be soaking wet, but you do not want it to be dry. We find that Blaptica dubia roaches breed faster, smell less, and are just as easy to maintain by providing a substrate in the Blaptica dubia culture.

Cardboard Egg Crate provides places for Blaptica dubia roaches to hide and give birth. Blaptica dubia roaches will spend most of their time hiding in the egg crate. The egg crate can be positioned vertically or horizontally in Blaptica dubia roach cultures, but we find simply laying the egg crate horizontally works well. Excess debris can be cleared from the egg crate by gentle shaking. Blaptica dubia roaches tend to cling to the egg crate when it is picked up, and ca be removed by shaking. Larger Blaptica dubia roaches tend to fall off sooner than smaller Blaptica dubia roach nymphs, and can be sorted by size in this manner.

Blaptica dubia roach cultures may need to be cleaned every 6-8 months. At Josh’s Frogs, we recommend seeding the substrate of Blaptica dubia roach cultures with springtails, a small soil isopod that breaks down organics. This significantly reduces the chance that mold will grow in the Blaptica dubia roach culture, which can kill Blaptica dubia roaches. Most of the substrate should be changed in Blaptica dubia roach cultures every 6-8 months; when doing so, make sure to add some frass (roach waste) back into the cleaned culture. Frass in an important dietary component in Blaptica dubia roach nymphs, and is needed for a healthy culture. Fortunately, Blaptica dubia roach frass does not smell.

Feeding:

At Josh’s Frogs, we feed our Blaptica dubia roaches a special diet that we formulate and make ourselves, Josh’s Frogs Roach Diet. Several years in the making, Josh’s Frogs Roach diet provides proper levels of protein and other nutrients essential to the health and growth of a Blaptica dubia roach culture. Josh’s Frogs Roach Diet also functions as a gut load for Blaptica dubia roaches, rendering them much more nutritious than Blaptica dubia roaches fed lower quality diets.

Blaptica dubia roaches also need to be provided with a moisture source. At Josh’s Frogs, we use polymer water crystals to provide water to our Blaptica dubia roaches. Polymer crystals are by far the easiest and most convenient way to provide moisture to your Blaptica dubia roaches. They are inexpensive, easily stored and made ready for use, and do not go bad, unlike fruits and vegetables.

Fresh fruits and vegetables can also be provided to Blaptica dubia roaches. The use of springtails (link) in a Blaptica dubia roach culture help to insure that vegetable matter does not mold over and threaten a culture.

Reproduction:

Blaptica dubia roaches will become sexually mature at around 4-6 months. Blaptica dubia roach females will give birth to 20-40 live nymphs once a month for the rest of their 1-2 year lifespan.

One male Blaptica dubia roach can service multiple females, so adult male Blaptica dubia roaches can be fed out of a culture without significantly impacting the reproductive capacity of a Blaptica dubia roach culture.

Mealworms purchased in cups should be stored in the refrigerator (a range of 42°-55° F). Mealworms purchased in bulk require a bit of prep work before they’re stored in the refrigerator. Bulk Mealworms are shipped in a box containing egg crate. The worms need to be transferred into a plastic container (the quantity of worms determines the size of your container). If your container has a lid, it will need several aeration holes. Fill the container with about 1″ of mealworm bedding, add the worms, then layer another 1″ of bedding on top. Mealworms can be kept in the refrigerator for up to two weeks with very little maintenance. After two weeks, the Mealworms should be removed from the refrigerator, and a small amount of Easy Water should be added to the top of the bedding. Allow the mealworms to stay at room temperature for about 24 hours. This will allow them enough time to “wake up” and become more active so that they can consume food and water. The mealworm bedding is their food source. After the 24 hours have passed, remove any remaining Easy Water and place the worms back in the refrigerator. Repeat this process on a two week schedule.

Ideal Temperature, Storage and Maintenance
Waxworms can be stored for a couple of weeks if kept at 55° F. This is the ideal temperature for waxworms; however, most refrigerators are a little colder than this. Often, the butter tray on the door of your refrigerator is the best place to find this ideal temperature. It’s better to keep waxworms at room temp with low humidity than it is to store them in a refrigerator that is colder than 40° F in its warmest area. Cupped waxworms should be stored in their cup. They have entered a stage in their life cycle where they no longer consume food. They are living off the fat supplies in their bodies. This means you’ll see them growing smaller the longer you keep them. Always remove any dead (black) wax worms from the container. It’s extremely important that they be stored in low humidity.

Ideal Temperature, Storage and Maintenance
Superworms are tropical insects that require warmer temperatures than standard/giant mealworms. Superworms’ ideal temperature range is 70°- 80° F. Cupped superworms can be stored in the cups for up to two weeks. Bulk superworms will be shipped in a box with egg crate. Store your superworms in a plastic container with at least 2″ of Superworm bedding (Chicken Mash/Bran/etc.)  Good container guidelines for a superworm container include dimensions about twice that of a shoebox, at least six inches tall, without a lid, and of sturdy plastic construction. (Small cat pans usually work well.) Add a small amount of Potato every other day to provide moisture for the worms. Depending on the quantity of superworms, fresh bedding should be added every week to two weeks to maintain the 2 ½” layers. Plan on completely replacing the bedding every three to four weeks.

Storage
Remove the crickets from the shipping box as soon as you get them. Keep the egg crates or partitions from within the shipping boxes to use within your own cricket container. These egg crates provide a climbing area for the crickets, allowing them to spread out, de-stress, and enjoy their new home.  Crickets ½” and larger need to be kept in an 18-20 gallon container that is at least 15″ tall. You’ll need a container that’s slick enough on the inside to prevent the crickets from climbing out. Also, crickets require a good amount of ventilation. If you use plastic tubs or aquariums as a cricket enclosure, don’t use a lid. Remove any potato used in the shipping box. Crickets don’t need bedding material; using it can actually harm their health and life span.

Ideal Temperature
The ideal temperature range is between 70°-75° F. Avoid temperatures above 80° and below 65° F. The cricket container should never be exposed to high humidity, direct sunlight, or cold drafts. Keep the container dry, and provide plenty of ventilation. Crickets shipped during cold weather might arrive looking dead; just release them into the container and allow them 3-4 hours to warm up. Cold temperatures can cause them to become dormant, but a few hours at room temperature usually perks them right up.

Food and Water
Always make fresh Food and Easy Water available in shallow containers. Keep no more than a two-day supply in the container at any time, replacing the supply of food and water every two days. Following this rule will decrease your cricket mortality rate.  Avoid fruits, vegetables, or a bowl of water, which can cause bacteria growth, increased mortality, and a bad smell.

Cleaning
Keeping the cricket container clean will ensure a longer, healthier life for your crickets. To clean the container, remove any dead crickets, shed skins, and waste material. Wash the container out with hot water (you can also use a very mild bleach solution) between cricket shipments. Thoroughly rinse the container and allow it to dry before adding a new batch of crickets. Never expose your crickets or cricket container to any kind of pesticides or cleaning solution other than a mild bleach solution.

Fruit flies are one of the easiest feeder insects to care for. Each 32 oz fruit fly culture includes all the food and water the flies will need for months. The culture will continue to produce flies for at least 2 months. Freshly Started Hydei Cultures will start to produce flies you can feed to your animals in 17-21 days. Freshly Started Melanogaster Cultures will start producing flies in 10-14 days. Each culture has the potential to produce 1000s of flies, but there are a few things that can slow down or stop production all together.

Humidity

Fruit fly cultures are prone to dry out in environments that are under 65% humidity. To maintain humidity, place the culture inside of a clear Rubbermaid container or storage shelving unit to keep the culture from drying out. You can also spray down the culture with de-chlorinated water if it dries out.

Temperature

Fruit fly cultures should be kept between 70 and 80 degrees. If the cultures hit 85 degrees even for a little while, the culture will go sterile and will not produce any more flies. Cultures that are kept under 70 degrees produce much slower.

Mold

Our 32 oz fruit fly cultures are made with a media that has a mold inhibitor already in it. However, if the culture begins to dry out, mold will appear on the top of the media. If mold develops on the top of the media, spray the mold down with some de-chlorinated water and put the culture in a clear Rubbermaid container or storage shelving unit to maintain humidity.

Mold will occasionally develop on the coffee filters or excelsior used in the culture. To prevent this from happening, make sure cultures are away from heater/air conditioner vents. If mold develops on the coffee filters or excelsior used in the culture, remove the portion with the mold on it before starting new cultures from that culture to avoid spreading the mold. Feeding from a moldy culture will not hurt your animals.

Mites

Mites are tiny bugs that love to attack fruit fly cultures. Mites are everywhere, so care must be taken to prevent mites from taking over your cultures. All cultures should be placed on paper towels that are sprayed with a Mite Spray. In addition, the area where the fruit flies are stored should be cleaned regularly.

If mites attack your cultures, it is best to toss all of your cultures and buy new fresh cultures.

Making Fruit Fly Cultures

Supplies:

1. Fruit Fly container and lid

2. Fruit Fly medium

3. Water free from Chlorine – Chlorine will slow the rate of fruit fly production. You can use distilled, RO, spring, etc.

4. Active Baker’s Yeast

5. Coffee Filters or Excelsior - Needed to create more surface area for more flies.

Procedure