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<div class="category-description std" style="background-color: transparent; color: #2f2f2f; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 0px;">
<p class="Heading-3-P" style="text-align: center; padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 12px 0px;"><strong style="font-weight: bold; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"><span class="Strong-C" style="color: #ff0000; font-size: 13.33px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;">Culturing Springtails</span></strong></p>
<p class="Heading-3-P" style="text-align: center; padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 12px 0px;"><strong style="font-weight: bold; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #ff0000; font-size: 13.33px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"><span class="Normal-_Web_-C" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px;">(</span><span class="Strong-C0" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px;">Collembola</span><span class="Normal-_Web_-C0" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px;">)</span></span></strong></p>
<p class="Heading-3-P" style="text-align: center; padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 12px 0px;"><span class="Strong-C2" style="color: #008000; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;">There are many methods for culturing springtails. Common substrates range from charcoal, peat, wood chips, coconut bark, etc. Commonly used foods include flake food, mushrooms and yeast. After trying numerous variations and combinations of these substrates/foods, we find that the following to be easy, cheap, and to work equivalently or better than the other approaches. </span></p>
<p class="Normal-_Web_-P" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 12px 0px;"><span class="Strong-C2" style="color: #008000; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;">1) Soak hardwood wood chips in dechlorinated water for a minute or two. Decant water and blot wood chips with a paper towel to remove excess water.</span></p>
<p class="Normal-_Web_-P" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 12px 0px;"><span class="Strong-C2" style="color: #008000; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;">2) Fill a &gt;16 oz Tupperware container ~1/2 full with the moistened wood chips.</span></p>
<p class="Normal-_Web_-P" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 12px 0px;"><span class="Strong-C2" style="color: #008000; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;">3) Microwave for ~1 min (until thoroughly steaming) to sterilize culture.</span></p>
<p class="Normal-_Web_-P" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 12px 0px;"><span class="Strong-C2" style="color: #008000; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;">4) Let culture cool to room temperature.</span></p>
<p class="Normal-_Web_-P" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 12px 0px;"><span class="Strong-C2" style="color: #008000; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;">5) Add 30-50 springtails.</span></p>
<p class="Normal-_Web_-P" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 12px 0px;"><span class="Strong-C2" style="color: #008000; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;">6) Feed with a pinch of <a style="color: #1e7ec8; text-decoration: underline; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;" href="https://store.frogsnthings.com/springtail-food-5-oz.html" target="_self">springtail food</a> and/or instant yeast 1-2x per week. Alternatively, the springtails thrive on reconstituted dried mushrooms. We do NOT recommend using fresh mushrooms as this is likely to introduce mites into the culture eventually. For more tips on preventing mites click <a style="color: #1e7ec8; text-decoration: underline; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;" href="https://store.frogsnthings.com/resources/fruit-fly-culture.html#Mites"><span style="color: #008000; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;">here</span></a>.</span></p>
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