Complete Culture Collection Combo: 5 Fruitfly Species, Bean Beetles and Rice Flour Beetles

Complete Culture Collection Combo for Sale

This is the complete feeder bundle. It includes all five fruit fly strains plus two beetle cultures, so you get the widest feeder variety in one box. The beetles add options that do not fly, which gives you a backup when a fly culture slows down. Each culture arrives in a 32oz cup with media. In short, it is a full feeder rotation in a single order.

What Is in the Collection

You receive one culture of each of the following seven:

• Hydei, the larger fly at around 4mm, for bigger animals.
• Melanogaster, the small flightless fly at around 3mm.
• Golden, a golden, more visible melanogaster.
• Normal, a standard melanogaster in the usual color.
• Turkish Glider, a melanogaster strain that glides rather than flies.
• Bean Beetles, small flightless beetles around 3mm.
• Rice Flour Beetles, whose small grubs are fed to reptiles.

Why the Complete Collection?

This bundle covers the most ground. The larger Hydei fits bigger animals, while the small flies and beetles fit tiny ones. Because the beetles do not fly, they are simple to offer and serve as a steady backup feeder. So it suits keepers with varied animals and anyone who wants a complete rotation rather than a single feeder.

Honest Note on the Collection

This is one culture of each, not packs of several. The flies are low in calcium, so dust them with a supplement such as TC Calcium Ultra Fine before feeding. The beetles are cared for differently, since they need no water source and are lower maintenance, though they start slower and last longer.

Feed the right stage for each: harvest flies as adults, feed rice flour beetle grubs rather than the bitter adults, and use bean beetle adults. Cultures also vary in pace and fade over time, so stagger or reorder to keep feeders on hand.

Using Your Cultures

The flies and beetles follow different routines, so treat them as two groups.

Fruit Flies

Feed flies once you see them in a cup. Give a fresh culture about 10 to 12 days, and give Hydei a little longer. Dust before feeding.

Beetles

Keep the beetle cultures dry, since they need no added water. They start slower than flies but keep producing for a long time. See the bean beetle and rice flour beetle pages for detail.

Keeping a Supply

Because cultures rise then fade, stagger or reorder them. The beetles help bridge any gap when a fly culture slows.

Best For

• Keepers with diverse animals across a range of sizes.
• Breeders who want a full feeder rotation in one order.
• Keepers who want non-fly feeders alongside fruit flies.
• Anyone who wants a backup feeder if a fly culture crashes.

Not Best For

• Keepers who only want fruit flies, who should choose the 5 species fly combo.
• Keepers who need only one feeder, who should buy that single culture.
• Keepers who will not dust flies, since the fly strains are low in calcium.

Recommended Add-Ons

• TC Calcium Ultra Fine to dust the flies before feeding.
• 5 Species Fruit Fly Combo if you want the flies without the beetles.
• Super Swarm Dry Fruit Fly Media to keep your fly cultures going.
• Super Swarm Fruit Fly Kit to scale up fly production.
• Springtails as another companion micro-feeder.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is included in the Complete Culture Collection?

You get seven live cultures: five fruit fly strains (Hydei, Melanogaster, Golden, Normal, and Turkish Glider) plus bean beetles and rice flour beetles, one culture of each.

How is it different from the fruit fly combos?

This bundle adds bean beetle and rice flour beetle cultures to the flies. The 5 species combo includes only the flies.

Are the beetles cared for like the flies?

No. The beetles need no water source and are lower maintenance, but they start slower. See the bean beetle and rice flour beetle pages.

Which feeders are for which animals?

Hydei is larger, for bigger animals. The small flies and beetles fit smaller animals, and rice flour beetle grubs suit tiny insectivores.

Do I dust everything?

Dust the flies, since they are low in calcium. Feed the correct stage of each beetle, and gut-load or dust as appropriate for your animals.

How long do the cultures last?

The flies fade over a few weeks, while the beetle cultures last longer. So stagger or reorder to keep a steady supply.

Learn More About Feeder Cultures

These sources cover the biology of the flies and beetles in this collection.

• eLife: The Secret Lives of Drosophila Flies. A peer-reviewed look at the natural history of the fruit flies in this bundle.
• University of Florida IFAS: Confused Flour Beetle. A university overview of the flour beetle behind the rice flour beetle culture.
• ScienceDirect: Gut Loading (veterinary overview). A reference on why feeder insects need supplementation, which supports dusting the flies before feeding.