Creating Fruit Fly Cultures

Funky Fly Fruit Fly Culture Keeper Care Instructions:

Funky Fly Fruit Fly Culture Keeper by OrbitRanch is designed as a reusable and convenient way to culture and dispense your fruit flies. By using multiple Keepers, you can maintain your own cultures without the need to continually buy more. The threaded spout on the lid allows you to control dispensing flies to your critters. If you need calcium dusting, take a look at our Funky Fly Super Lid for 32oz deli cups.

Parts are 3D printed using PETG. Hand wash with warm water and soap, or a water/vinegar solution. Do not wash plastic parts in a dishwasher!

Instructions for culturing flies:

Remove all parts from the glass jar
Mix your fruit fly media (we suggest Repashy Superfly) directly into the glass jar.
- For 16oz jars, use half of the recommended amount for 32oz deli cups. For Repashy Superfly, use the following: 1.5 Tablespoons and 1/3 cup boiling water. If using warm water, use 2 Tablespoons of media powder
- For 32oz jars, use the full amount: 3 Tbsp of Repashy and 2/3 cup boiling water
Push the spiral Fly Ladder into the media (You do not need to use excelsior with the ladder, but you can push some into the center tube if you want additional material)
Let the media cool completely to room temp (this is important so you don’t kill your flies)
Next, seed your culture with 15 to 30 flies
Store culture at room temp and out of direct sunlight, preferably someplace darker
You should see fly larvae in 5-15 days and new flies in 10-30 days
To keep a constant supply of flies, create a new culture every 1-2 weeks. Seed the new culture with flies from the current culture. I have found success in using two Keepers and seeding new culture every 2 weeks