I will just keep this mealworm colony going until I get a culture
of confused flour beetles. I wish I had learnt about these
beetles a few days earlier - the larvae are just the right size
for my fish.
I started two red-worm cultures too. I am working on obtaining a
grindal worm culture and also a wingless fruit-fly culture from
local aquarists. Thanks for the tip about cultures from PetsMart,
I'll go see if my local store has a culture.
There is a ton of information on raising Drosophila on the Net
and recipes for culturing mediums abound.
Carolina Biological Supply claims to provide a "professional
culturing medium" - I think I know what they use because they
give a hint "high in Vitamin C". I think they use a Dextrose
and Ascorbic Acid mixture as a mold-retardent. This Dextrose
and Ascorbic Acid (Vit-C) mixture is sold in grocery stores to
keep cut fruit from discoloring; it increases the acidity of the
medium and prevents mold from taking hold. I intend to try using
this in my home-made medium (applesauce, banana paste, cooked
oatmeal, brown sugar, yeast, dextrose, ascorbic acid and water).
oh yeah, I have permission from you-know-who to keep these cultures
in the house - provided they don't transform into flying bugs. Let's
hope they don't escape :).
Sajjad
=====
-- Sajjad Lateef e-mail: sajjadlateef AT yahoo DOT com Chicago
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