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Common housefly |
Musca domestica
Common
Housefly
Muscidae, Diptera
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Products
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Housefly Pupae
Housefly
Breeding Kit
Frozen and
freeze-dried maggots, pupae and adults are also available on request.
Please inquire. |
Manual
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Housefly Kit
Instructions (pdf) |
Description
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These are the
pupae of wild type houseflies, a native strain of no particular pedigree
with fully
developed wings. They can fly.
The pupae are shipped on flour, in a cloth bag wrapped in
absorbent paper toweling. This packaging is designed to absorb moisture
excreted by the pupae, so the the pupae should be dry and nearly odorless.
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Use
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In general,
foraging animals prefer maggots or pupae, while ambush predators and web
weavers tend to prefer adult flies, though there are exceptions. For
instance, gumfooted web
weavers (theridiids) generally prefer crawling maggots. Fish may take the
maggots, pupae or adults, possibly live or frozen, and some make a mashes
of any of these for hatchling hummingbirds or other young animals that do
not accept other foods well.
The pupae may simply be allowed to eclose (hatch) in the
cage with your animals or the adult flies may be fed and allowed to fatten
up a bit first before they are used. Of course, you can also use the pupae
to start your own culture of flies and have a ready source of fresh
maggots, pupae and adults as needed. |
Storage
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Housefly pupae
may be refrigerated to delay development.
Normally,
adult flies should eclose (hatch) from the pupae 1-4 days after arrival,
depending on temperature. Cooling below 55 oF will nearly stop
development and most of the pupae will survive for more than 2 weeks.
The pupae may
be refrigerated in the bag and paper toweling that they come in, in an
open pan or dish in a refrigerator. They should have good ventilation and
should not be placed in sealed plastic bags or containers.
The pupae may
survive longer if allowed to warm to room temperature for a few hours
every 3-4 days.
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Feeding
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Houseflies need sugar and water after emergence and a good
source of protein and nutrients later if you need viable eggs.
You can place a shallow Petri dish or saucer of sugar and
powder milk in the cage with a small dish of water filled with large wood
chips. The wood chips reduce drowning by giving the flies something to
walk on.
See our housefly kit
instructions for ideas on starting your own culture.
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Nutrition
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The diet of the flies can have a significant effect on the
development and health of the animals that using the flies to feed. We do
not recommend the use of conventional media for raising feeder insects.
Animals raised on conventional media may have slow growth, higher
mortality and more cannibalism. Our base formula, which includes sugar,
dog food and yeast, tends to result in better development and vitality and
may be supplemented with additional nutrients as necessary.
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Life History
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Houseflies
undergo complete metamorphosis, which means that the juvenile very
different than the adult.
The flies lay eggs,
which will hatch as a very, almost microscopically small, worm-like maggot
within 24 hours when warm. The hatchlings are called the 1st instars and
the maggots will molt, shedding skins twice as they grow and go through
2nd and 3rd instars before pupation.
The cuticle (skin) of fully grown maggots will harden
and become a stiff case or puparium about 5 days after hatch.
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