How to clean your mite-contaminated springtails

[Ed]

Originally Posted by Pumilo

I would think that whacking the tree fern panel during the initial harvest would knock them loose.

???????????? Why are you assuming the force that the springtail experiences from the whacking is going to be greater than when they jump? And if a mite can cling through a jump why would we expect them to be dislodged from the whacking?

Ed

[Pumilo]

Originally Posted by Ed

???????????? Why are you assuming the force that the springtail experiences from the whacking is going to be greater than when they jump? And if a mite can cling through a jump why would we expect them to be dislodged from the whacking?

Ed

I don't think that detritus mites or grain mites would be deliberately clinging to springtails anyway. I would not try to salvage a culture infested with predator mites. Would a grain or detritus mite even have the means to cling onto a springtail through a jump or from whacking the tree fern? I doesn't seem like they would be designed for this. Also, after further thought, I have addressed this concern in my last post. Do you think that shaking them in the water bath and blowing them off again is still not enough?

I know that there are some that say it is very difficult to clean a culture once it has mites but it has to be possible. Aren't springtails generally found in areas that are also perfect conditions for mites to thrive? It stands to reason that wherever original cultures came from, there must have been some cleaning that had to be done. Do you have any better methods that you use Ed?
I have concerns about buying cultures elsewhere as many of the cultures I've purchased elsewhere were contaminated with other mites, springtails, worms, and even phorrid flies so I am looking into methods of cleaning a culture.

[james67]

excellent write-up doug.

james

[Pumilo]

Originally Posted by Pumilo

I don't think that detritus mites or grain mites would be deliberately clinging to springtails anyway. I would not try to salvage a culture infested with predator mites. Would a grain or detritus mite even have the means to cling onto a springtail through a jump or from whacking the tree fern? I doesn't seem like they would be designed for this. Also, after further thought, I have addressed this concern in my last post. Do you think that shaking them in the water bath and blowing them off again is still not enough?

I know that there are some that say it is very difficult to clean a culture once it has mites but it has to be possible. Aren't springtails generally found in areas that are also perfect conditions for mites to thrive? It stands to reason that wherever original cultures came from, there must have been some cleaning that had to be done. Do you have any better methods that you use Ed?
I have concerns about buying cultures elsewhere as many of the cultures I've purchased elsewhere were contaminated with other mites, springtails, worms, and even phorrid flies so I am looking into methods of cleaning a culture.

Additionally, the pink springtails I originally got were contaminated with both nematodes and mites. I cleaned them with a simple float and blow. They stayed clean for many months, maybe 6 to 8, before I got careless and they got mites again. If your typical mite's breeding cycle is 30 days, they would not have stayed clean for that long if there were mites clinging to them. I'm trying to provide extra precautions with this method.

[Brian317]

awesome ! Great method, thanks for posting ! hopefully I will never have to use it (knock on wood)

[curlykid]

wow, this is cool, i may just do this for fun!

[Ed]

Originally Posted by Pumilo

Additionally, the pink springtails I originally got were contaminated with both nematodes and mites. I cleaned them with a simple float and blow. They stayed clean for many months, maybe 6 to 8, before I got careless and they got mites again. If your typical mite's breeding cycle is 30 days, they would not have stayed clean for that long if there were mites clinging to them. I'm trying to provide extra precautions with this method.

Depending on the mite species involved, the life cycle can be much shorter (and the population doubling time can be astoundingly short) see http://www.entsociran.org.ir/pdf/jes...%20al.-388.pdf

[Ed]

Originally Posted by Pumilo

I don't think that detritus mites or grain mites would be deliberately clinging to springtails anyway. I would not try to salvage a culture infested with predator mites. Would a grain or detritus mite even have the means to cling onto a springtail through a jump or from whacking the tree fern? I doesn't seem like they would be designed for this. Also, after further thought, I have addressed this concern in my last post. Do you think that shaking them in the water bath and blowing them off again is still not enough?

I know that there are some that say it is very difficult to clean a culture once it has mites but it has to be possible. Aren't springtails generally found in areas that are also perfect conditions for mites to thrive? It stands to reason that wherever original cultures came from, there must have been some cleaning that had to be done. Do you have any better methods that you use Ed?
I have concerns about buying cultures elsewhere as many of the cultures I've purchased elsewhere were contaminated with other mites, springtails, worms, and even phorrid flies so I am looking into methods of cleaning a culture.

Hi Doug,

I think we don't have any evidence that they can't cling to the springtails. I would be very hesitent to compare the ecology of what is in effect a monoculture to that of a functioning ecosystem. Keep in mind that the conditions in the culture are probably not quite the same as a selected niche so we don't see the same population dynamics.

I think the sterile surface tactic is what is going to allow you the best method to get the clean cultures particularly in combination with the alcohol wipedowns. Years ago, I was given some Folsomia cultures that were heavily infested with nematodes. I simply set-up new cultures and seeded them by flooding the container and blowing the springtails off the surface into the new container. I need to dig around and see if I can find my pictures of shelves covered with mite sheds and mites that originated from old cultures.

Ed

[Pumilo]

As an additional precaution I have begun taking the initial harvest (uncleaned) and dumping it through a funnel, into a Gatorade bottle half full of water. You can shake this up pretty good with no apparent harm to the springtails. The springtails pop right back up to the surface.
I pour this into the cereal bowl, set it in the pot, and blow the springtails off.
Clean and alcohol wipe the funnel and pour the cleaned springtail harvest into a second, clean, Gatorade bottle to repeat the process so they are double washed, and double blown off.

If anyone has any other other, possibly better methods, please feel free to post them here.

[Dane]

Originally Posted by Pumilo

I don't think that detritus mites or grain mites would be deliberately clinging to springtails anyway. I would not try to salvage a culture infested with predator mites. Would a grain or detritus mite even have the means to cling onto a springtail through a jump or from whacking the tree fern? I doesn't seem like they would be designed for this. Also, after further thought, I have addressed this concern in my last post. Do you think that shaking them in the water bath and blowing them off again is still not enough?

If the mites aren't parasitizing the springs, why go to so much trouble to remove them? Wouldn't they be acting as a secondary feeder item (in minute numbers) within a single culture space?