Super Swarm Fruit Fly Kit: 10 Cultures

Fruit Fly Culture Kit for Sale

This Super Swarm kit gives you the supplies to make up to ten fruit fly cultures at home. It includes the media, the excelsior straw, the vented lids, and the cups, so you only need to add water and a seed of flies. Because home cultures cost less per culture than buying them, the kit pays off for keepers who feed flies often. In short, it is the simple way to keep your own steady fly supply.

What Is in the Kit

The kit makes ten cultures and includes:

• 1.5lbs of Super Swarm dry media, the food the flies breed in.
• Excelsior straw, which gives the flies a surface to climb and pupate on.
• 10 vented lids for airflow.
• 10 32oz deli cups to hold the cultures.

What You Add

The kit does not include live flies. So you supply two things: water, to hydrate the dry media, and a seed culture of flies to start each batch. A producing wingless melanogaster or Hydei culture works well as the seed.

How to Use It

Each culture is quick to set up.

Mix a Culture

Add dry media and water to a cup, stir to a moist consistency, then add a piece of excelsior straw. Tap in a seed of flies and fit a vented lid.

Wait to Produce

Give a new culture about 10 to 12 days for melanogaster, and a little longer for Hydei. Then harvest and dust the flies before feeding.

Stagger Your Cultures

Start a fresh culture every week or two. As a result, you always have flies coming, since each culture fades after a few weeks.

Why Make Your Own?

Culturing at home costs less per culture than buying producing cultures one at a time. It also keeps you self-sufficient, so you do not run out between orders. For keepers with several animals, that steady supply is the main draw.

Honest Note on the Kit

This is a supplies kit, not a live product, so remember to add your own seed flies and water. Home cultures can also pick up mites or mold, so keep your setup clean and your cups sealed with the vented lids. Finally, if you culture heavily, the larger 20 culture kit may suit you better.

Best For

• Keepers who feed fruit flies often and want a steady supply.
• Dart frog keepers and others with several small animals.
• Anyone who wants to lower the per-culture cost of flies.
• Keepers who already have a fly culture to seed from.

Not Best For

• Buyers expecting live flies, since the kit is supplies only.
• Keepers who feed flies rarely, who may prefer a single producing culture.
• Keepers without a seed culture, who should add one to their order.

Recommended Add-Ons

• Wingless Melanogaster as a seed culture to start your batches.
• Hydei as a seed for the larger fly.
• TC Calcium Ultra Fine to dust the flies you produce.
• Super Swarm Dry Media to refill and keep making cultures.
• 20 Culture Kit for keepers who culture heavily.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is included in the kit?

It includes 1.5lbs of Super Swarm dry media, excelsior straw, 10 vented lids, and 10 32oz deli cups, enough to make ten cultures.

Does it include live flies?

No. The kit is supplies only, so you add your own seed culture. A producing melanogaster or Hydei culture works well.

What else do I need?

You need water to hydrate the dry media and a seed of flies to start each culture. Everything else is in the kit.

How do I make a culture?

Mix media and water in a cup, add excelsior straw, tap in a seed of flies, and fit a vented lid. Then wait about 10 to 12 days.

Why make my own instead of buying cultures?

Making your own costs less per culture and keeps you from running out. So it suits keepers who feed flies regularly.

Is there a bigger kit?

Yes. The 20 culture kit makes twice as many cultures for heavier feeders.

Learn More About Culturing Fruit Flies

These sources cover the biology and life cycle behind home fly cultures.

• How and Why Drosophila Became a Model Organism. A review of the fast life cycle that lets a home culture produce flies in about two weeks.
• eLife: The Secret Lives of Drosophila Flies. A peer-reviewed look at the natural history of the fruit fly you are culturing.
• ScienceDirect: Gut Loading (veterinary overview). A reference on why feeder insects need supplementation, which supports dusting the flies you produce.