This is the recipe for the fly food we use at the fly facility:
Media Preparation:
- Weigh corn flour, D-Glucose, Sugar, Agar and yeast powder separately and keep them aside.
- Take the required quantity of water based on the need (for example, for 6ltrs of fly media, take 6ltrs of water) in a pressure cooker.
- Warm the water (approximate temperature 35⁰C) and add corn flour. Mix thoroughly to remove any clumps. Add other ingredients (D-Glucose, sugar, agar and yeast powder) and mix again.
- Close the pressure cooker lid without cooker weight/whistle and keep on high heat for 5 minutes.
- Open the pressure cooker and mix thoroughly
- Close the prossure cooker with cooker weight/whistle and boil at 120 deg C for 25 minutes at low flame.
- Once media is cooked, turn the heat off and wait to cool for 15-20 minutes.
- Once the pressure is released (after ~15 minutes), open the cooker and mix thoroughly.
- Cool the media to 50-55 deg C (make sure that it is checked with thermometer)
- Add TEGO solution which has been mixed with alcohol, followed by propionic acid and ortho- phosphoric acid and mix thoroughly.
COMPOSITION:
| Normal media | Composition
(for 1L) |
Gajju’s special media | Composition
(for 1L) |
| Corn flour | 80g | Corn flour | 80g |
| D-Glucose | 20g | Jaggery | 70g |
| Sugar | 40g | Agar | 9g |
| Agar | 8g | Yeast powder | 15g |
| Yeast powder | 15g | Propionic acid | 4.4ml |
| Propionic acid | 4ml | Tego(methylparahydroxy benzoate)* | 1.25g |
| Tego(methylparahydroxy benzoate)* | 1g(5ml ethanol) | ||
| Orthophosphoric acid | 0.6ml |
*Tego-sept(Methyl parahydroxy benzoate) is mixed in Ethanol
Gajju’s media is liked by flies and they tend to be healthier and lay more eggs in the media. Hence, we ask Gajju to make his special media for our sickly fly stocks.