Key Points of Fly Farming Techniques and Daily Management Methods
Everyone knows that the fly is an insect that can transmit many kinds of bacterial and viral diseases. It carries pathogens onto food and harms human health, so flies have always been targets for elimination. Flies often frequent the filthiest places, so why do they not get sick? This phenomenon gave scientists an idea. Research found that flies contain various antibacterial substances such as antibiotics and antimicrobial peptides, which can resist and even destroy bacteria. We can reasonably put them to use, do a good job of prevention, and thereby benefit humanity. Experiments have proven that fly maggots contain no toxins and can be safely eaten, and their bodies are very high in protein and also high in vitamin E. Dried fly maggots can be used as protein feed for poultry, aquatic animals and other animals, and are favored by many farmers. There are many varieties of flies, and the one with the highest nutritional protein content and farming yield is the “engineering fly.”
The Growth Process of Flies
The growth process of flies is divided into four stages: egg, maggot (larva), pupa, and fly (adult).
1. Egg: After hatching, flies are raised artificially for 3 to 5 days, then begin mating, reproducing and laying eggs, with the egg-laying period lasting 5-10 days; the feed for receiving eggs must be fermented in advance, with the moisture level and ratio well controlled; after the fly eggs are collected, they immediately enter the hatching room for incubation, and the temperature, humidity and ventilation time of the hatching room are adjusted according to the season; the hatching time of fly eggs is generally 8-24 hours, and after hatching is complete, they can be prepared for placement in the maggot pond for rearing.
2. Fly maggot (larva): Stock according to the density of the hatched larvae (Note: if larval density is too low, the larvae grow large but the yield is too low; if density is too high, nutrition becomes insufficient and the maggots become smaller); the ratio requirements for the base material placed in the maggot pond (fresh pig manure must not have too much or too little moisture; if the base material is not managed well, it will seriously affect larval development and growth, and may even cause death); fly maggots mature in about 4 days in summer and about 6-8 days in winter; according to current fly maggot farming techniques, fly maggots can be farmed in all four seasons of the year.
3. Pupa: After maggots mature, they crawl into a relatively dry environment, contract back and forth and become pupae, and their body color changes from light to dark, finally becoming chestnut brown; it takes 2-4 days for maggots to become pupae; thick, plump maggot pupae can be kept as seed stock to ensure the reproduction rate of the next generation and extend the egg-laying period, allowing cyclical farming.
4. Fly: When the body color of the pupa turns chestnut brown or black, the flies are about to emerge. At this time, we must gently place the pupae into the fly room's fly net. The number of pupae to place is determined by the volume of the fly net, and the density must not be too high; the front end of the pupal shell splits, and the fly crawls out from the opening, needing to go through five stages - “resting —— crawling —— extending the body —— spreading the wings —— hardening of the body wall” - before it can develop into an adult fly capable of flying, feeding and reproducing; after the peak egg-laying period of the flies, the flies are generally dealt with within 12-16 days and replaced with a new generation.
Farming Techniques for Breeding Flies
1. Breeding fly room. It requires fresh indoor air, a temperature maintained at 24-30°C, relative humidity of 50%-70%, and more than 10 hours of light per day. Indoors there are fly cages, cage racks, thermometers and hygrometers, and equipment for heating, exhaust and escape prevention.
2. Making fly cages. Use thick iron wire or bamboo and wood strips to make square fly cages 50 cm in height and width, cover the outside with plastic gauze netting, leave an operation round hole 20 cm in diameter on one side, and sew a 30 cm long cloth sleeve at the opening, which is tied tightly at ordinary times. Place three layers of fly cages vertically on the cage rack, and each cage can hold 10,000-15,000 breeding flies.
3. Source of breeding flies. The first batch of sterile flies can be introduced from a demonstration base or bred on your own from wild flies. The method is to raise maggots into pupae, or take collected pupae, sterilize them, select the large and plump ones (do not use big-headed flies), and place them in the breeding cage to emerge as sterile fly stock.
4. Feeding method. The purpose of cage rearing is to make female flies lay eggs in a concentrated way. Four types of trays or jars with different functions are placed in the cage: first, a water tray: specially for breeding flies to drink from, changed once a day; second, a food tray: nutritional feed made from sterile maggot paste, brown sugar, yeast, preservative and water, changed once a day; third, an egg-laying jar: the jar contains a mixture of bran, water and attractant to lure female flies to lay eggs in a concentrated way; every day the material and eggs are moved into the larval rearing basin and replaced with new material; fourth, an emergence jar: specially for placing breeding pupae about to emerge when replacing generations.
6. Culling of breeding flies. Implement an all-in, all-out farming method, that is, kill all breeding flies at 20 days of age, then process them into fly powder for later use, and after the fly cages are disinfected and treated, they are used to raise the next batch of new breeding flies.
Farming Techniques for Fly Maggots
1. Maggot rearing room. Similar to the breeding fly room, the room temperature is maintained at 26-35°C, humidity at 65%-70%, and indoors there are maggot rearing racks, maggot rearing basins, thermometers and hygrometers, and heating and other facilities. Larvae are afraid of light and do not need illumination.
2. Feeding method. First put mixed feed mainly made of poultry and livestock manure, 5-8 cm thick, into the maggot rearing basin, with humidity at 65%-70%, then, at a ratio of 1 gram of fly eggs per 1 kg of feed, the eggs hatch into maggots after 8-12 hours, and every 1 kg of pig manure can raise 0.5 kg of maggots.
3. Separation of maggots from manure. After 5 days of rearing, the maggots are already mature. Except for those kept for breeding that need to become pupae, maggots used as feed should be collected and used. The method is to use the “strong light screen method” or the “oxygen deprivation method” to force them to escape from the feed for separation. After fresh feeding, the remaining maggots are dried and processed into maggot powder, which can then replace fishmeal in preparing mixed feed. Selection and retention of pupae for breeding. After maggots become pupae, use a screen to separate the pupae from the material, then select the large and plump ones to keep as seed stock; pupae not used for the time being can be placed in a refrigerator for 15 days; in winter, breeding pupae should be moved indoors to keep warm and overwinter.