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Feed your sundews- incredibly fast growth and flowers (DUW)

  • #41
haha, yay :) Those things are awesome- where did you find those at? My local pet shops didn't have any when I last checked.
 
  • #42
haha, yay :) Those things are awesome- where did you find those at? My local pet shops didn't have any when I last checked.
Wingless fruit flies are widely available on the web. I'm also planning to get a colony from one of the sites (if I can't get some in a trade 1st). Dr. Frankensnyder used these to help grow his many dews.

If someone has researched purchase costs (cost plus shipping) for wingless fruit flies, feel free to make a recommendation...
 
  • #43
Some PetCo stores carry them. None of the stores local to me have them. I found one about 15 miles away that carries fruitflies.

I'm not sure what the USPS and Dept. of Agriculture requirements are for shipping these.

I've not seen how Ivan Snyder manages to behead the flies with his thumbnail. It is certainly beyond my feeble abilities. Micro-surgery forceps/tweezers are a must.
 
  • #44
I purchased them at Petco for $5.75. I'm not sure if they're always there. I just happened upon them. Worth checking before paying shipping though. I had purchased them online once before though.
 
  • #45
Some PetCo stores carry them. None of the stores local to me have them. I found one about 15 miles away that carries fruitflies.

I'm not sure what the USPS and Dept. of Agriculture requirements are for shipping these.

I've not seen how Ivan Snyder manages to behead the flies with his thumbnail. It is certainly beyond my feeble abilities. Micro-surgery forceps/tweezers are a must.

Which one? 0.o rowland heights? :X
 
  • #46
A college buddy of mine breeds his own flightless flies for his poison dart frogs :-D
He's got thousands (of flies) so he gives me some every once in a while pro bono; and I give him some capensis to catch the ones that mutate and start flying again.
 
  • #48
that's way cheaper than i expected. i'll have to do another search in a few weeks.
i may also try using a dilute orchid fertilizer mix after someone suggested that idea.
anyone have experience with this?
 
  • #49
that's way cheaper than i expected. i'll have to do another search in a few weeks.
i may also try using a dilute orchid fertilizer mix after someone suggested that idea.
anyone have experience with this?

No CLEAR results, i diluted 1/4 tps in a gallon of water, I was afraid of making it to strong and burning the leaves, though I'm sure it did more harm then good there is no comparison to the beta food or fruit flies
 
  • #50
thanks for the info. in that case, i may just stick to those, then.
 
  • #51
Fruit flies are easy enough to breed. All you need are some jars, instant mashed potato mix, instant baby food cereal mix, sugar or molasses and yeast (baker's or brewer's), and something to put in the jars for the flies to crawl around on off the media. Some people use wide meshed fiberglass screen, excelsior (packing material), shredded coffee filter paper.

Don't breed the winged ones unless you like bugs flying around. Some will escape.

Just google "fruit fly recipes" or the like and you'll find dozens of hits.
 
  • #52
good point. Why pay extra when you can make it pretty much for free.

When you're taking them out of the container, do you gas them first, or do you just let them keep crawling around? We used a kind of sleeping gas in Biology class when dealing with fruit flies- granted most of them had wings. It seems like it would take more time to have to individually catch the guys crawling around, but i suppose if you have hundreds of them it wouldn't be that big of a deal.
 
  • #53
I'll never forget the time (2004) when WickedThistle wrote, "Want some fruitflies?" Somehow I didn't think this would fly by my wife....
 
  • #54
Dr. Frankensnyder method (exact details unclear as I have not eye-witnessed the procedure): Trap flies between foam stopper and jar. Remove with tweezers. Separate abdomen from rest of body using thumbnail against finger. Feed abdomen to plants with tweezers. Discard the rest.

Sprinkle method: Just sprinkle them on. Round up untrapped flies any way you can and repeat. Do this as far away as possible from any food sources so the strays will eventually starve.

Stun/Kill Method: Sprinkle a number into another container, cover and stick in the freezer long enough to stun or kill the suckers. Sprinkle or feed with tweezers.
 
  • #55
NaN-i really like that last method. Thanks again for the info!

jim- well, i suppose it wouldn't "fly" by her, but if they're wingless, then i suppose it might slowly crawl by her.
 
  • #56
Don't fish flakes and pellets contain salts and minerals that are good for fish but not so good for CP's??

I've used dried bloodworms before for my pings and dews but have always been a little frightened of using for-fish type foods.

Thoughts?
 
  • #57
I really don't know for sure, but a few growers I asked about it said they've used it for over 2 years, with only positive results, so I'm guessing that if there are salts and adverse minerals, that they are in very minute amounts and don't effect the plant. On the bottle, they do list a few vitamins, but they must be ones that bugs contain or something...
 
  • #58
I have noticed a large percentage of flies manage to struggle free from sticky traps (Drosera and Pinguicula). The lack of wings must be to their advantage else they are super-flies.
 
  • #59
Many thanks to Jfoley & NaN for recommending Petco. Made one call & local store has them. Located a recipe on the web - will have 1-3 cultures up & running by this weekend (if stars align).

On the dilute liquid fertilizer w/ dews - have not found any large differentiation with this approach. However, last year I used with two S. psittacina plants and they had the best growth year by far. Unlike the tall varieties which do very well on their own or the purps which get any spare bugs I happen across - the psits don't seem to catch much on their own in my setup. Squirting some 1/4 strength every 2 weeks made a large, very noticeable difference. I may try weekly applications this year.

On the fishfood or bloodworms with dews - great results as noted by CPlantaholic. However, when plants are enclosed in high humidity, the fishfood molds up quickly and often causes problems (& can be tough to remove). This stuff worked great with the petios.

The mold issue (or actually the 'difficulty in removal issue' - since both fishfood & WFFs mold in high humidity) & Ivan's consistently outstanding results have made me want to try the WFFs for a while. Seems like it's a good time .... :rookwoot:
 
  • #60
On the dilute liquid fertilizer w/ dews - have not found any large differentiation with this approach. However, last year I used with two S. psittacina plants and they had the best growth year by far.

I've noticed the same thing on my Nepenthes, using the same 1/4th dilution fertilizer I use a dropper and place the solution in the pitchers. With my N. sanguinea each new leaf is about 1/2 inch longer then the last and the pitchers are about 1/2 inch taller then the last. There is a 3 inch difference from the last formed pitcher and a pitcher produced about 5-6 months ago. I've also noticed a quick turnover rate in new leaves compared to not fertilizing.
 
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