Protophormia Terraenovae (Northern Blowfly)

Blowfly FAQ's (Calliphoridae)

Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia (Animals)
Phylum: Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class: Insecta (Insects)
Order: Diptera (Flies)
Family: Calliphoridae (Blowflies)
Genus: Protophormia
Species: terraenovae

What is the difference between larvae and pupae?
In the lifecycle of a blowfly, a larva is what hatches from an egg. These are also known as spikes or maggots. Larvae eat and molt a few times to get ready to pupate.

Pupae are the ‘cocoons’ subadult larvae turn into in preparation for eclosion. Eclosion is when an adult fly hatches from its pupal case.

Should I get larvae or pupae?
If you decide on larvae, you have the option to feed these as-larvae to your animals, or to set out at room temp in order to pupate and eclose flies. It takes seven days from larva to hatched adult fly. In order to prevent pupation en-route, larvae must be shipped chilled and next-day (courier). Cost varies by destination.

If you decide on pupae, they can only be served as hatched flies. They will have pupated en-route, and when received, will be some days away from hatching. These are mailed as oversized lettermail through Canada Post. Travel times are cited as two days within the GTA (three days occasionally). Travel time is cited as three days within Ontario, and four days nationally. Cost is $2.36 for postage (includes tax paid for the stamp).

How long do they keep?

Refrigerated, larvae remain mostly viable for up to six weeks. One will observe a drop in hatch rate approaching five weeks, but yields are predictable enough right through. I recommend pupating what remains at the 4 or 5 week mark.

Refrigerated, pupae remain mostly viable for up to three weeks. One will observe a drop in hatch rate approaching three weeks, but yields are predictable enough right through. After three weeks, the drop is steep.

Why do they smell bad?

Commercially, they are fed fish carcasses. As a result, they have a rotten fish smell. Keeping refrigerated makes a bug difference in keeping the smell down. If you have untreated hardwood sawdust, that can be changed out and it will lessen the smell a lot.

How many do I need?
5i+ Regal spiderlings will usually take a larva or adult fly fairly reliably. Older spiderlings may take three or even four larvae.

Mantises vary by species. 3i+ Chinese nymphs will usually take a larva or adult fly fairly reliably. Mantises grow very large, but a 6i Chinese nymph can certainly eat three or four.

I usually feed spiderlings and mantis nymphs two times a week, depending on abdomen size.

Calculate your need from there. Always get more than you'll need as its better to have them on-demand like water. Order quantities table shown HERE.

How are they dispensed?
Dispensing larvae is easy! Drop in what you need. Consider that runaway larvae will often burrow under substrate to pupate. If the substrate is too moist, that can kill the larva. They can be dispensed at refrigerator temps or allowed to warm up, but only warm larvae will wriggle.

Dispensing pupae is often done if you want some feeders hatched after some delay. This is great for time away! You have to know how far along your pupae are in order to target a time for hatching. Again, beware of over-moistened substrate as that can change the pupal casing making it harder for the fly to eclose.

Dispensing adult flies requires planning. Refrigeration is the way to go!
How many per individual X how many individuals becomes important because refrigerated flies (cold-stunned) reanimate fairly quickly. It’s possible to feed two or three animals consecutively but after that, reanimated flies can jump and fly out of the dispensing cup.

It is better to plan for this and prepare small portion cups with just enough for each animal, or enough for 2 or 3 animals. Only take out (of the fridge) the cup you’re feeding from right now. This means you wont have to wait to refrigerate a feeding cup between feeding each animal.Just pull the next one out of the fridge. Give strong consideration to how long it takes to open and close your animal’s enclosure. Have everything ready before hand.

How are they stored?
Some people prefer to eclose all their pupae at once, and keep themas flies in a cup. You can keep the cup of hatched flies refrigerated (1-2 °C). If you do this, take the cup out every 3rd or 4th day to allow the flies to metabolize. Provide food – a fruit slice, or a honey smear on wet paper towel. Keep them out an hour or two, then refrigerate again.

ALWAYS ensure cup you are refrigerating them in is ventilated. Condensation forms as the container gets cold. This condensation can soak the sawdust they come in making the larvae weak or killing them outright. Soaked pupae tend to hatch poorly. In addition, soaked flies won't survive long, so keep those fairly dry.

Some people prefer to keep flies at room temperature and provide a food source so they can eat at will. One needs to refrigerate them to dispense. Personally, this adds a complexity I don’t need. Its better to keep multiple small portion cups with flies ready, in the fridge. If you plan to feed them out quickly, you wont have to worry about feeding the flies.

Store larvae refrigerated to suspend pupation, and pupae refrigerated to suspend eclosing.

Can these be cultured?

Calliphoridae are usually found on poop and carrion, or on decomposing waste. Commercially, they are fed fish carcasses. I won't culture them, and I don't think you would want to either.

As more comes to mind, I will edit this page. If you see anything that needs editing, please let me know!

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