Dart Den

So....if you read my other thread on "Seal your Springtails" ,you'll remember that I'm currently dealing with a sizable grain Mite population in my master Springtail culture. I am 100% positive that escape FF ,Turkish Gliders to be exact. Am I sure it was the Glider variety ? Yep. They are climbers and escapers....after a large feeding, a bunch of them climbed and got out of a couple KIS / Sterlite temporary bins and from there - into the gaps on those same KIS containers containing the Springtail cultures.

I have since gone to Rubbermade "snap on" flexable lids / container systems for keeping food fresh (and FF out, lets hope).

I salvaged 2 portions of the original Spring cultures and split them, like any good hobbyist, and I'm closely monitering them . There are still mites, mind, but also a good bit of Springtail activity. So there's hope !

Do you think I should curtail feeding the culture it's customary Dry Baby Cereal and try to starve out the mites ?

Every notice how springtails seems to live in some areas with no apparent food at all ? Like a discarded plant pot that you havent paid attention to in 8 months, let alone fed, and yet the springs are alive in there....

Thoughts ?

I dunno, I have been use the 6qt containers with lids for springtail cultures. I feed sliced mushrooms instead of cereal, so far so good.

Philsuma Wrote:Every notice how springtails seems to live in some areas with no apparent food at all ? Like a discarded plant pot that you havent paid attention to in 8 months, let alone fed, and yet the springs are alive in there....

Thoughts ?

I often wonder this too. It seems me that they can be severely neglected. I set aside a culture for 2 months+ and didn't feed them at all. The culture was water and leca. That's it! They were alive, but no big population for sure.

I'm wondering if they feed off the dead and are able to reproduce faster than their food requirements...

The dry baby cereal was probably the source of the mites. I have them in most of my cultures but they don't seem to cause any harm to the springs. I feed mushrooms, active yeast, and vegetable/fruit scraps.

No Tony...I maintained the culture, fed with baby cereal for years and no mites.

The mites rode in on the Turkish Gliders, I am close to 100% in my belief of that due to timing and other factors.

Springtails vs Mites - Springs are winning !

After sealing em up....I'm seeing some springtails on top of the culture and less and less mites.

Go Springs !

LOL awesome, good to hear they are reclaiming their turf!