assassin bugs kept communally

[JoeWilliamson]

yo so basically i know that you can keep the same species of assassin bugs together, but would it be possible to house different species together, thinking of putting white spots and red spots together but will refrain if it isnt possible

 

[Brunneria]

Please don't. There are reports claiming that those two species can hybridize so i wouldn't risk creating hybrids

 

[Hisserdude]

Yeah, try not to keep two different species together, if only to avoid hybridization. Also, you should keep your nymphs separate until you have a large colony set up and you won't care about a little cannibalism, otherwise you may lose some of your nymphs.

 

[JoeWilliamson]

ok thanks a lot for the help, i think i'll just go with a triplet of reds then

 

[CellyBean]

whats wrong with hybrids?

 

[KevinsWither]

Well with hybrids they are of two species in one, and thats not good for the hobby as if they spread, then it will be a lot more difficult to find pure assassin bugs that are not hybridized. So in short, do not. 

 

[CellyBean]

but isnt it possible to tell hybrids apart from the pure assassin bugs?

 

[Ranitomeya]

If the hybrids are capable of producing fertile offspring, some may have the appearance of one of the pure parent species, but still be a hybrid. If you look at hybrid pheasants that have been crossed back and forth for generations, you'll find many of them appear to have the most of the plumage of one of the parental species, but show signs of having genes of the other species. In the invertebrate hobby, a good example of hybridization and the proliferation and distribution of hybrids would be with hissing cockroach species. At some point they were crossed and hybrids were produced, distributed, bred into other colonies, and distributed further. Many lines were contaminated with hybrids and now it's much easier to obtain hybrid hissing cockroaches than the pure species. Even if you were to breed the hybrids, their offspring, and the offspring of their offspring and so on with pure species until there have been so many generations that they're 99.9% pure, you would still have to consider them hybrids. It can only take as few as a single foreign gene to make an individual noticeably different. In many cases there are few deleterious effects, but there is always the chance of producing a lethal gene combination and wipe out colonies as the hybrids make their rounds.

 

[CellyBean]

okay so let me see if i understand theres two basic reasons for no hybrids

one because you (general you) prefer pureblood line insects kind of like how people can be with dogs and mutts

two because theres a chance the hybrids can kill the parent species because of gene combinations (not really sure how that works)

 

[Ranitomeya]

okay so let me see if i understand theres two basic reasons for no hybrids

one because you (general you) prefer pureblood line insects kind of like how people can be with dogs and mutts

two because theres a chance the hybrids can kill the parent species because of gene combinations (not really sure how that works)

The main reason not to have hybrids: to maintain the genetic composition of a successful species that has evolved naturally.

This isn't a case of pureblood/line-bred breeds of organisms. Dogs of every breed and every combination of breeds are the same species, there's no hybridization going on there. It's not entirely about preference, but many people do have a preference for pure species. It's more about maintaining the species and conserving the natural genetic uniqueness that makes them a species.

Hybrids do not kill the parent species. Hybridization simply creates the opportunity for accidental or deliberate destruction of the the pure species as animals change hands and are bred. Individuals within colonies do not live forever--as they die, their offspring are continue on. If you introduce hybrids into a colony, you'll eventually have only hybrids. Since hybrids have genes from both parental species, you have new gene combinations--these gene combinations may not appear right away and could take several generations to appear. Say one such gene combination causes a high chance of failing to develop into adults--this could mean that not only have the parental species been wiped out of the hobby, but now the hybrids that overtook them will also eventually die out as colonies collapse.

It's not unheard of or uncommon to create hybrids--many scientists hybridize in order to discover how genes from closely related species interact when hybridization occurs. What isn't okay is for those hybrids to be dispersed throughout the hobby where people may unwittingly breed them and introduce them into colonies of the pure species and potentially cause what I explained. Hybridize if you wish, but please do not trade, sell, or give them away. All it takes is for someone to forget what they are and distribute them.

I suggest taking a course on genetics to gain a better understanding of species, hybrids, and how the introduction of new genes into an existing gene pool can effect a population.

 

[CellyBean]

The main reason not to have hybrids: to maintain the genetic composition of a successful species that has evolved naturally.

This isn't a case of pureblood/line-bred breeds of organisms. Dogs of every breed and every combination of breeds are the same species, there's no hybridization going on there. It's not entirely about preference, but many people do have a preference for pure species. It's more about maintaining the species and conserving the natural genetic uniqueness that makes them a species.

Hybrids do not kill the parent species. Hybridization simply creates the opportunity for accidental or deliberate destruction of the the pure species as animals change hands and are bred. Individuals within colonies do not live forever--as they die, their offspring are continue on. If you introduce hybrids into a colony, you'll eventually have only hybrids. Since hybrids have genes from both parental species, you have new gene combinations--these gene combinations may not appear right away and could take several generations to appear. Say one such gene combination causes a high chance of failing to develop into adults--this could mean that not only have the parental species been wiped out of the hobby, but now the hybrids that overtook them will also eventually die out as colonies collapse.

It's not unheard of or uncommon to create hybrids--many scientists hybridize in order to discover how genes from closely related species interact when hybridization occurs. What isn't okay is for those hybrids to be dispersed throughout the hobby where people may unwittingly breed them and introduce them into colonies of the pure species and potentially cause what I explained. Hybridize if you wish, but please do not trade, sell, or give them away. All it takes is for someone to forget what they are and distribute them.

I suggest taking a course on genetics to gain a better understanding of species, hybrids, and how the introduction of new genes into an existing gene pool can effect a population.

okay thank you so much for going more in depth about this! i have a much better understanding now

 

[spotsy99]

The main reason not to have hybrids: to maintain the genetic composition of a successful species that has evolved naturally.

This isn't a case of pureblood/line-bred breeds of organisms. Dogs of every breed and every combination of breeds are the same species, there's no hybridization going on there. It's not entirely about preference, but many people do have a preference for pure species. It's more about maintaining the species and conserving the natural genetic uniqueness that makes them a species.

Hybrids do not kill the parent species. Hybridization simply creates the opportunity for accidental or deliberate destruction of the the pure species as animals change hands and are bred. Individuals within colonies do not live forever--as they die, their offspring are continue on. If you introduce hybrids into a colony, you'll eventually have only hybrids. Since hybrids have genes from both parental species, you have new gene combinations--these gene combinations may not appear right away and could take several generations to appear. Say one such gene combination causes a high chance of failing to develop into adults--this could mean that not only have the parental species been wiped out of the hobby, but now the hybrids that overtook them will also eventually die out as colonies collapse.

It's not unheard of or uncommon to create hybrids--many scientists hybridize in order to discover how genes from closely related species interact when hybridization occurs. What isn't okay is for those hybrids to be dispersed throughout the hobby where people may unwittingly breed them and introduce them into colonies of the pure species and potentially cause what I explained. Hybridize if you wish, but please do not trade, sell, or give them away. All it takes is for someone to forget what they are and distribute them.

I suggest taking a course on genetics to gain a better understanding of species, hybrids, and how the introduction of new genes into an existing gene pool can effect a population.

I know this is an old post, but I just want to thank you for explaining in great detail about hybrids! This was very helpful! 

Denise