What kind of fly did i see?

[jamest0o0]

I just saw a what looked to be jumbo gnat on the side of my cham's cage. The normal few gnats i see are so small i can't even see what their body looks like, and they die without even feeling them in your fingers. This one was like half the size of a grain of rice though, smaller than a house fly, but bigger than a gnat. I tapped it with my finger and it felt kind of like a tiny pebble and fell/flew off somewhere. Wish i could get a picture, if i see another i will. Anyway, should i be worried?

 

[jpowell86]

I just saw a what looked to be jumbo gnat on the side of my cham's cage. The normal few gnats i see are so small i can't even see what their body looks like, and they die without even feeling them in your fingers. This one was like half the size of a grain of rice though, smaller than a house fly, but bigger than a gnat. I tapped it with my finger and it felt kind of like a tiny pebble and fell/flew off somewhere. Wish i could get a picture, if i see another i will. Anyway, should i be worried?

Yeah, fungus gnats are tiny. I know what you are talking about though. They came in with some of my dubia. They were really bad for about a week. It seemed like they were everywhere. They apparently are quite nasty too because I had some get in the enclosures with my baby cristatus. They would hunt them, but as soon as they were in the mouth, they would spit them out.

Nothing to worry about per se, but be prepared if you have them like I did. I had to setup sticky traps. I think I took a pic of what I had. Let me see if I can find it.

 

[jpowell86]

Not the best pic, but it's not easy getting something that small on a camera phone.

 

[Andee]

I can't tell great from your picture @jpowell86 but is that a phorrid fly? They are larger than gnats by a bit and kind of skitter about more than gnats. I wouldn't be surprised of the nasty taste either, they eat rotting foods and flesh.

 

[bobcochran]

Not the best pic, but it's not easy getting something that small on a camera phone.


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Hey Joel, is the pictured fly about the size of fruit flies. Only the movement when they walk is more dash stop, dash stop than a fruit fly? I get those when I don't keep my cricket bins clean enough.

 

[Andee]

Yeah @bobcochran I to had one small outbreak of phorrid flies in my dubia bin (only time I have ever dealt with them). My phorrid flies showed no parasitic tendencies so I was pretty sure I could save the colony. I bought a cleaner crew, cleaned the colony really well, replaced all egg crates, replaced the bin and then kept them unheated and relatively cold for a while. Feeding no food for two weeks, and then only feeding a small amount of dry food every few days for a couple months, then I started feeding a small amount of veggies every few days while I increased the feedings of dry food. I saw no more flies afterward.Have added heat after having kind of a detox for 5 months. The cleaner crew was a huge help for dealing with the phorrid flies. I do need to buy another group, sadly the cold was not good for the breeding of my cleaner crew, but they did their job for that colony. I will definitely be ordering a new group very very soon.

 

[bobcochran]

Yeah @bobcochran I to had one small outbreak of phorrid flies in my dubia bin (only time I have ever dealt with them). My phorrid flies showed no parasitic tendencies so I was pretty sure I could save the colony. I bought a cleaner crew, cleaned the colony really well, replaced all egg crates, replaced the bin and then kept them unheated and relatively cold for a while. Feeding no food for two weeks, and then only feeding a small amount of dry food every few days for a couple months, then I started feeding a small amount of veggies every few days while I increased the feedings of dry food. I saw no more flies afterward.Have added heat after having kind of a detox for 5 months. The cleaner crew was a huge help for dealing with the phorrid flies. I do need to buy another group, sadly the cold was not good for the breeding of my cleaner crew, but they did their job for that colony. I will definitely be ordering a new group very very soon.

I not sure it's what you're feeding the colony, I thought they were feeding on the dead crickets. I don't see them in my dubia bins though.

 

[Andee]

It has to do with eating rotting stuff for phorrid flies and my dubia roaches were way passed needing cleaned. I also didn't have a cleaner crew at all at the time. The issue with crickets is they die quickly and rot quickly (lovely insects XD), and yes phorrid flies eat dead insects and sometimes rotting veggies/fruit. Often when you come across fresh maggots it makes me want to vomit, and I have smelled some nasty stuff that has not affected me at all. Horrible creatures. There are also lots of different kinds of phorrid flies, the most hated kind in the reptile trade, and has started this thing that makes everyone think all species of phorrid fly do this, is that they lay eggs and the maggots attack live insects and will burrow into your reptile eggs and eat the embryo inside. While yes there are species of phorrid fly that attack living reptiles, eggs, and insects of various kinds; there aren't many considering the amount of species of phorrid/hump back flies that do exist and plague us. I have had a very small outbreak in my dubia bin once before, and I think the major issue that cause it was the way my food dish was sitting on a dubia that had died and it had gotten moist... and ugh just so ew

 

[jamest0o0]

So.... the thing i saw wasn't fruit fly/Fungus gnat, it was like them, just bigger and it felt like a tiny pebble when i hit it. It was just sitting on the side of my cage doing nothing and hardly moved. I was worried it could be a phorrid fly... i have some great colonies of orange heads and dubias going, idt i've seen any in there knock on wood, but i don't want to lose them to a possible infestation.

 

[Andee]

Usually you don't lose them to an infestation unless you are unlucky enough to get a parasitic variety. I mean I definitely recommend to doing a deep clean, using a high vinegar/water solution or a low bleach/water solution. They usually get killed by either. Then rinse with really hot water. I would see if you notice any weird smells coming from your pots/plants. If they are breeding it smells like a sewer/rotting carcasses trust me. But if they get into your colony they are relatively easy to get rid as long as you don't have a parasitic species. And that is easy to tell by looking over your roaches. They are most attracted to the wings/wing buds and leg joints of your roaches, and you will see it. Once the maggots hatch on your roach, the individual will be horribly lethargic and usually die rather quickly from being eaten. .____. I mean I respect parasites in a way. They are super specialized and I always love animals like that because they are just evolution at it's purest form... but a lot of parasites are just destructive.

 

[jpowell86]

Yes, @Andee and @bobcochran...that's the little rat bastards. Phorid flies. The dubia I got last round were shipped to me and they were in the thousands. So, there is no telling what might have died along the way and got dumped in the bin. That makes sense. I haven't had anymore and that was the first time I have ever seen them. I hope they don't come back. They didn't seem to affect anything. They were just super annoying and completely dumb.

 

[Andee]

Phorid flies (just realized my phone was auto-correcting the other ones for some reason ), anyway phorids usually have an extremely short life span. A bit longer than a fruit flies, I think around 1 week or so, maybe less or a bit more, but either way they are pains in the ass for sure. But as long as you don't get a parasitic variety they aren't deadly to your reptiles or insects, they are just annoying >.< stupid things. They don't even fly out of the way of your fingers when you squish them XD