SirToppemHat
New Member
Not sure if the really tiny flies are called fruit flies or gnats. Do you think Blue Bottle Flies will eat them?
Will Blue Bottle Flies eat the small fruit flies (gnats)?
- Thread starter SirToppemHat
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Extensionofgreen
Chameleon Enthusiast
Nope. Blue bottle flies feed on nectar, pollen, and mostly liquid foods.
I was having a bit of a gnat problem this year for the first time ever and after introducing springtails the number of gnats has greatly diminished to the point of being almost gone. I don't know if it's because the springtails are attacking the gnat larvae or simply eating their food supply or if it's possibly even just coincidence, but they sure seemed to help!!!
I also had two types of gnats. One looked more like a very tiny fly and the other was much more delicate looking.
jamest0o0
Chameleon Enthusiast
Yeah i've been going through a gnat problem and i have mushrooms growing everywhere lol. Decided to add springtails to everything along with isopods. I have a separate bin for springtails and isopods as well. now i have to wait and see, how long did it take your springtails to spread through your substrate?
SirToppemHat
New Member
Awesome! Now to research what springtails are, hopefully something kinda cool.
I was actually shocked at how quickly they spread - literally within a day I could find them anywhere in the substrate if I disturbed it. They have also completely cleaned the mold from the branches where they enter the substrate. I never had a big mold problem but it's nice to have absolutely none! I'm going to get isopods as well next time I go to the pet store.
I don't have anything else in the soil. Yes I'm very lucky to have two reptile specialty stores within about 10 miles! I almost bought the isopods when I bought the springtails. Wanted to see what the springtails did first though so I could be sure it was them making the difference! These stores carry quite an assortment of small specialty feeders also (for babies or dart frogs etc). I am going to try the dwarf purple or dwarf white isopods. I am a little concerned about there being enough food since I don't have live plants, but there are many branches which are always decaying to some degree and of course droppings from the chams (although I make every effort to remove them I'm sure I miss a little). Anyways that's why I'm going with the smaller isopods because food won't be as plentiful as in a planted enclosure. I would love to get some walking sticks from Andee but just haven't set up for them yet. Being also a collector of exotic insects (normally dried, spread and displayed) I would love to raise the stick insects and the leaf insects as well. I've got many different species of huge walking sticks and leaf insects but never had live ones!!!
Andee
Chameleon Enthusiast
If you want some really nasty and huge stick insects I would look up a jungle nymph. But they are notoriously bad tempered, so are some of the giant species I have raised in the past such as diapherodes gigantea, however neither one of them make good feeders once they reach a certain point, nasty spikey defenses XD Loved them though while I had them. The leaf insects are something I want to get next, but I wouldn't sell them to just anyone. Unless they were being fed off immediately. They are not easy keepers. I even had a hard time with my first batch, and only got a couple ova out of it. None of which hatched. I will likely try again when I have a good set up for them.
I would love to have some living jungle nymphs!!! I've worked with many dead and dried specimens but I've never seen a live one! The males are so different too - much smaller with large wings that have a pinkish tint. One of the most difficult things for me is providing food - it's difficult or impossible to grow many of the food plants here, especially in the summer. I wish so much that more prepared diets were readily available like the silkworm chow. A bramble chow and an oak chow would be great!!! I hope it's ok if I post a picture of a walking stick/leaf insect display I made for someone a few years back. That monster towards the right is Eurycnema goliath - one of the largest and heaviest winged stick insects in the world. It's difficult to imagine the size just from a photo! The body alone without legs was over 10 1/2"!
I have two large eucalyptus trees in my back yard! I can grow roses but it's a challenge here so I don't have any. I also don't have access to any other roses.
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Andee
Chameleon Enthusiast
Roses will work for a lot of species, especially smaller sticks, but you gotta be careful of your source because if they haven't been in the ground in for a while most large commercial places will actually keep pesticides inside their rose bushes and the plant will grow with it for several years.
As far as eucalyptus, you can never feed sticks who are raised on it off (almost all eucalytpus especially the gum ones are poisonous to most species of animals) but certain ones aren't. Most people recognize the poisonous species as eucalyptus the best and they are the favorite of almost all stick insects and leaf insects. The larger species of stick insects and almost all leaf insects will eat eucalyptus they do best on fresh growth, but as long as you have started it for the younger nymphs you should be fine ^^.
As far as eucalyptus, you can never feed sticks who are raised on it off (almost all eucalytpus especially the gum ones are poisonous to most species of animals) but certain ones aren't. Most people recognize the poisonous species as eucalyptus the best and they are the favorite of almost all stick insects and leaf insects. The larger species of stick insects and almost all leaf insects will eat eucalyptus they do best on fresh growth, but as long as you have started it for the younger nymphs you should be fine ^^.
Did not know that about the eucalyptus! I might have to find some jungle nymphs now! I probably won't be able to do sticks for feeders unless I can come up with a chow made from dried bramble. I know they say some will eat romaine but it just doesn't seem nutritious enough to make them great feeders. I think roses are out unfortunately. Thanks so much Andee!!
