Super Swarm Fruit Fly Kit: 20 Cultures

Bulk Fruit Fly Culture Kit for Sale

This Super Swarm kit gives you the supplies to make up to twenty fruit fly cultures, double the smaller kit. It includes the media, the excelsior straw, the vented lids, and the cups, so you only add water and a seed of flies. Because it covers twenty cultures in one order, it suits keepers who feed flies at volume. In short, it is the high-volume way to keep your own fly supply.

What Is in the Kit

The kit makes twenty cultures and includes:

• 3lbs of Super Swarm dry media, the food the flies breed in.
• Excelsior straw, which gives the flies a surface to climb and pupate on.
• 20 vented lids for airflow.
• 20 32oz deli cups to hold the cultures.

10 or 20 Cultures?

This kit makes twenty cultures, double the 10 culture kit. So choose by how many flies you feed. Heavy feeders, breeders, and larger collections do better with this size, while lighter feeders may prefer the smaller kit.

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 fresh cultures on a schedule. As a result, you always have flies coming, since each culture fades after a few weeks.

Why Make Your Own?

Culturing at home keeps you self-sufficient, so you do not run out between orders. At twenty cultures, you can also stagger a steady rotation for a large collection. The per-culture cost is similar to the smaller kit, so the main gain here is volume in a single order.

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. If twenty cultures is more than you need, the 10 culture kit is the smaller option.

Best For

• Heavy feeders and breeders who culture flies at volume.
• Keepers with large or multiple collections.
• Anyone who wants a long, self-sufficient fly supply in one order.
• Keepers who already have a fly culture to seed from.

Not Best For

• Buyers expecting live flies, since the kit is supplies only.
• Lighter feeders, who may prefer the 10 culture kit.
• 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.
• 10 Culture Kit for lighter feeders.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is included in the kit?

It includes 3lbs of Super Swarm dry media, excelsior straw, 20 vented lids, and 20 32oz deli cups, enough to make twenty cultures.

How is it different from the 10 culture kit?

This kit has double the supplies and makes twenty cultures. The 10 culture kit is the smaller option for lighter feeders.

Does it include live flies?

No. The kit is supplies only, so you add your own seed culture, such as a producing melanogaster or Hydei.

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.

Is it cheaper than two 10 culture kits?

Only a little. The per-culture cost is similar, so the main benefit is getting twenty cultures in a single order.

Why make my own instead of buying cultures?

Making your own keeps you from running out and supports a steady rotation for a large collection.

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.