Prolonging a friutfly culture

[Stylopidae]

I tossed a few bits of apple into a friut fly vial that was about spent. How long could I theoretically do this?

 

[dtknow]

Until it molds, gets mites, or waste builds up to a point?

No idea, but keeping old cultures is just asking for a mite infestation.

 

[Stylopidae]

Please elaborate on the mite point. Grain mites, scavenger mites, or parasitic mites?

This is just something I'm just trying out for now.

 

[Frogsarethapoop]

At the lab we expire fruit fly vials 10 days after the first eclosion date. You don't want vials with mold in it, because the flies will transfer that mold all over the place.

 

[dtknow]

scavenger mites. They will spread to your other cultures and decrease the yield.

Mold is also a possibility.

 

[Nick12007]

Also parasitic mites. At my lab, we do immunology studies and there are so many kinds of mites found actually on the fruit flies. Besdies that, depending on your substrate, it could get yeasty/moldy, so after a certain point the larvae will be getting nothing out of it.

 

[Ganoderma]

I used a bit of vinegar to help deter the fungus. with this help with mites as well?