House Fly Pupae

Musca domestica, the common house fly, are a delicious enrichment food for your reptile, amphibian, or invert friend! The flight of house flies will keep your reptile or amphibian friend entertained and stimulated as well as provide a suitable food source.

House flies are about 8-12 millimeters in their adult form, making them a great size for a variety of reptiles, amphibians, fish, and birds. House Fly Pupae cups contain a healthy overcount, as not all pupae will hatch into flies. The pupae are packaged in a small deli cup with wheat bran.

How to Feed: House flies are fast! To make these flies easier to transfer to your animal's enclosure, place them in the fridge for a few minutes. This will slow them down enough so that they will not fly out when the container lid is open.

How to Store: When you receive your house flies, they will be in pupae form. The pupae should be stored in the fridge until you are ready to have them pupate into flies. Be cautious about leaving them in the fridge for too long though—the longer house fly pupae are in the fridge, the lower the numbers of flies will hatch out. To hatch flies, simply place the pupae in a container with a paper towel or wheat bran substrate, kept on the warmer side of room temperature (I hang mine over my heater when I need to speedup hatching).

No additional moisture is required to hatch the pupae, as the metamorphosis process in house flies is primarily temperature dependent, and any moisture on the pupae will result in deformed and/or decreased flies. If hatching at adequate temperatures, flies should emerge in 3-7 days.

It is possible to hatch pupae at a lower temperature but expect upwards of 3 weeks to hatch. The longer the storage time, the fewer flies will hatch out. Try to use all the pupae within a couple weeks.