Mites with D. hydei?

CitizenNumber9

CitizenNumber9

Arachnobaron
Joined
Nov 25, 2013
Messages
324
Hello everyone,

I've noticed that there are some mites in the container with my D. hydei colony. They are tan-ish (the same color as the media) and seem to be teardrop shaped. The largest ones are only a bit smaller than the flies themselves. They stay near the bottom of the container with the media and there are a few eating a dead fly. I don't have a good enough camera to get clear photos of them. Any guesses as to what these may be? Are they potentially harmful and is it possible that they would be able to get through the cloth-like material the lid is made of?

Thanks in advance!
Autumn
 
J

JZC

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 9, 2012
Messages
421
They sound a bit like maggots? If so, they are fly larvae. Hmu with any fly questions, I culture a bunch for my frogs.
 
CitizenNumber9

CitizenNumber9

Arachnobaron
Joined
Nov 25, 2013
Messages
324
JZC said:
They sound a bit like maggots? If so, they are fly larvae. Hmu with any fly questions, I culture a bunch for my frogs.
Click to expand...
They are definitely not maggots. :) They are hard and more round and I can make out their tiny legs. They crawl around and are smooth looking.

---------- Post added 04-19-2014 at 08:59 PM ----------

Here is a picture I found of what they look like, though following the link didn't give me an identification.
http://www.redwormcomposting.com/images/white-mites2.jpg
 
Hanska

Hanska

Arachnobaron
Joined
Nov 2, 2013
Messages
382
I've had the same problem with my cultures once. It's not that uncommon for mites to get in fly cultures.
They are harmless to the flies, they eat the same medium though and reduce the "fly producing capabilities" of the culture. The bad part is once you get them, they spread to all other cultures and any infested culture used to make a new one guarantees the new will have mites. The mites spreading can be hindered by keeping the cultures in a container with water on the bottom (the cultures can't touch).
 
CitizenNumber9

CitizenNumber9

Arachnobaron
Joined
Nov 25, 2013
Messages
324
Hanska said:
I've had the same problem with my cultures once. It's not that uncommon for mites to get in fly cultures.
They are harmless to the flies, they eat the same medium though and reduce the "fly producing capabilities" of the culture. The bad part is once you get them, they spread to all other cultures and any infested culture used to make a new one guarantees the new will have mites. The mites spreading can be hindered by keeping the cultures in a container with water on the bottom (the cultures can't touch).
Click to expand...
Thanks for the advice! Unfortunately I only have one culture at the moment, the one with mites. :/ Should I be concerned about them getting into my T enclosures or in with my mantids? Is it possible for them to hitchhike on a fly?
 
J

JZC

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 9, 2012
Messages
421
Yes they can hitchhike on a fly. What can be done to clean the flies so to speak is dust them with a supplement. The Ts/mantids don't need it, but the flies groom themselves to get rid of the dust, and also get rid of the mites.
 
Hanska

Hanska

Arachnobaron
Joined
Nov 2, 2013
Messages
382
CitizenNumber9 said:
Thanks for the advice! Unfortunately I only have one culture at the moment, the one with mites. :/ Should I be concerned about them getting into my T enclosures or in with my mantids? Is it possible for them to hitchhike on a fly?
Click to expand...
If you keep your enclosures tidy the mites have no reason to infest them. The only reason they're so numerous in the fly culture is that it's made of FOOD.
 
CitizenNumber9

CitizenNumber9

Arachnobaron
Joined
Nov 25, 2013
Messages
324
JZC said:
Yes they can hitchhike on a fly. What can be done to clean the flies so to speak is dust them with a supplement. The Ts/mantids don't need it, but the flies groom themselves to get rid of the dust, and also get rid of the mites.
Click to expand...
Thanks I will do that!

---------- Post added 04-20-2014 at 05:27 PM ----------
Hanska said:
If you keep your enclosures tidy the mites have no reason to infest them. The only reason they're so numerous in the fly culture is that it's made of FOOD.
Click to expand...
This made me lol :laugh: they are pretty tidy but I always keep a part of my slings' enclosure damp.
 
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