House Flies?

[Wuntu Menny]

Meowmix,

Most N American mantids require a cold period to induce hatching. My suppliers put them in the fridge for a few weeks before selling them. I believe they cool them for 4-6 weeks to simulate a winter diapause. After the chill, return them to mid 80's and you should have nymphs in 10-14 days.

WM

[meow_mix450]

O wow thanks

[J-Man]

I have a question... what would I leave out over night to attract flies? if I leave fruit out then that will attract ants.. not flies... and I don't wanna leave anything like garbage or rotted meat or anything out because that would be bad for my cham. So anybody have any ideas as to what I should leave out?

[Wuntu Menny]

I would suggest buying the maggots and letting them pupate as I stated earlier. You can usually get them from cricket/feeder suppliers. I'd be a little concerned about possible pathogens and bacteria in free range flies, especially urban ones.

If you do decide to trap them, sugar water works well. There are even prebuilt flytraps employing sugar as bait. Unfortunately, they are also designed to drown them in the process. Most are configured similar to an inverted bottle with the entrance at the bottom and the bait suspended inside. The flies enter and can't find their way out.

WM

[J-Man]

Yeah I'll probably just end up buying the larvae. Though one of the reasons I liked this idea was in case I couldn't get my hands on some of my normal feeders. Thanks for the feedback

[Wuntu Menny]

I think you can fridge the pupae to delay development with the flies too. That may help stretch supplies a bit.