How to breed fruit flies? (Drosophila)
Requisites: a starting batch of fruit flies, 200 grams of oatmeal, 1 liter of water, 500 grams of apple sauce, 200 grams of sugar, 1 tea spoon of yeast, 4 or 5 plastic bottles, 4 or 5 cardboard rolls from kitchen or toilet paper, kitchen paper, 4 or 5 rubber bands.






Method: boil water, add oatmeal and stir for a minute or so. Take the pot off the stove and add the yeast. Cover the pot with a wet towel and let it rest for an hour, then add the apple sauce and sugar. Let it rest some more to cool down. Cut off the top of the plastic 2 liter bottles and fill the bottom part for about 1/5 with the mush you just prepared, then put a cardboard roll in it. Put about 30 flies in the bottle, cover with a piece of kitchen paper and put a rubber band around it to keep it closed. The breeding cycle takes about 3 weeks (depending on temperature).


How to breed springtails? (Collembola)

Requisites: a starting batch of springtails, a plastic container with lid, potting compost, charcoal, a food-base for the springtails (yeast, white bread, flour,...).




Method: put about 1 cm of potting compost in a plastic container, spread some pieces of charcoal on top (the springtails will crawl on it, which makes it easy to catch them - take 2 to 3 pieces of charcoal and shake off the springtails; this is enough for an additional meal for your frogs). Keep the potting compost moist by spraying it with water regularly and add some yeast, white bread or flour from time to time; this way you will get mold, which is needed to feed the spring tails. You can also buy ready-made food for springtails in specialised shops; it's easier and fail-proof (just feed a little every couple of days). This simple way of breeding is very stable and will last for years. No need to refresh the soil, just add some potting compost when needed.


How to breed pea aphids? (Acyrthosiphon pisum)

Requisites: a starting batch of pea pahids, dried (whole) peas, potting compost, plastic jars (and something to cover them with).



Method: soak the dried peas for about 24 hours in water. Fill the bottom of the plastic jars with moist potting compost (3-4cm) and push the soaked peas half way in the potting compost. Let the jars rest for a few days in plenty of daylight at 25 degrees Celsius, so the plants kan grow. Moisten the soil once again before putting the pea aphids on the plants. Keep them at room temperature. To keep the plants longer, the soil must be watered every few days (try not to wet the aphids too much).


How to breed flour beetles? (Tribolium confusum)

Requisites: a starting batch of flour beetles, white flour, a plastic container with lid.



Method: the larvae of the confused flour beetle are very suited to feed your frogs with, but please note: the frogs only eat the larvae, not the beetles as they have a hard shell and have a bitter taste (the frog will just spit it out). Breeding confused flour beetles is simple: fill the bottom of a plastic container with white flour and add some flour beetles. Flour beetles mate fast and the whole year through, but they are quite sensitive to temperature: at their prefered 30 degrees Celsius, the reproductive cycle takes about 20 days (it will take longer if the temperature is lower). You can catch the larvae with a sieve and then put them on a small dish in the paludarium.