Zath
Enthusiastic Enthusiast
I picked up two vials of FF yesterday to start up cultures for seedlings, spider slings, etc. Despite both of them being labeled as "flightless", I got a vial of both flightless and wingless, so...bonus?
Anyway, the recipe I used was the simplest one I could find. Instant potatoes, powdered milk (I used goat's milk since it was the only one that was "whole"), sugar, and a pinch of baker's yeast on top to supposedly control mold.
(Opinions on that recipe are welcome)
I filled two 16 oz. ball jars about 1/3 full with the mix, tamped it down a little, and then put in some crumpled coffee filters for them to crawl around on.
I'm wondering a few things, since I've never tried this before:
1. About how often will I need to clean / replace the media, and will it be obvious, or should I be pro-active about it?
2. Do I NEED to harvest the adults regularly, even if there's nothing to feed them to at the moment? I wouldn't mind having two jars of each, but I doubt I'll need more than that for a long time. (Can I just dump them outside? lol)
3. As long as they don't crash / get infiltrated by wild FF's, will these original (rather small) cultures be sustainable, or should I occasionally introduce new genetic material?
Anyone who has an inkling is more than welcome to answer.
Anyway, the recipe I used was the simplest one I could find. Instant potatoes, powdered milk (I used goat's milk since it was the only one that was "whole"), sugar, and a pinch of baker's yeast on top to supposedly control mold.
(Opinions on that recipe are welcome)
I filled two 16 oz. ball jars about 1/3 full with the mix, tamped it down a little, and then put in some crumpled coffee filters for them to crawl around on.
I'm wondering a few things, since I've never tried this before:
1. About how often will I need to clean / replace the media, and will it be obvious, or should I be pro-active about it?
2. Do I NEED to harvest the adults regularly, even if there's nothing to feed them to at the moment? I wouldn't mind having two jars of each, but I doubt I'll need more than that for a long time. (Can I just dump them outside? lol)
3. As long as they don't crash / get infiltrated by wild FF's, will these original (rather small) cultures be sustainable, or should I occasionally introduce new genetic material?
Anyone who has an inkling is more than welcome to answer.