Selcective breeding: possible? ideal species and traits

[vertex]

Your thoughts on:

Feasible to domesticate/selectively breed mantis?

If so:

What species would be the best candidate(s) in an to attempt to selectively breed for more ...pet-like characteristics?

What traits would be ideal and feasible to breed for? i.e. goal-- docile--

 

[Rick]

I think you have to keep in mind that these are insects, not mammals. I do not think it is possible to breed mantids to make a more "pet like" mantis. These are not like your dog or cat. May be possible to breed for such things as colors or size though but I think even that is very limited. I do not feel that mantids are much like pets in the true sense of the word.

 

[vertex]

I think you have to keep in mind that these are insects, not mammals. I do not think it is possible to breed mantids to make a more "pet like" mantis. These are not like your dog or cat. May be possible to breed for such things as colors or size though but I think even that is very limited. I do not feel that mantids are much like pets in the true sense of the word.

Mantids appear to be more intelligent than say a gold fish, and at the least some species are more aggressive than others. It just seems like there is something to work with and that one or two species would have to be the best to attempt such a thing-- over a long period of time, but nonetheless.

 

[Andrew]

Don't quote me on this, but I think only one insect has ever been truly domesticated, and thats the honeybee...apis mellifera I think?

And just look at how long people have been keeping those...

Mantids could possibly be bred to an extent for color or size...but I'm pretty much with Rick on this one.

 

[macro junkie]

i love the pic

 

[Mantis Keeper]

You can of course selectively breed for any trait that is genetic. Size and colore most definately, but I'm not sure how much temperment has to do with genetics. Just give it a shot and see if it turns out. It will definately take time, at least years, possibly decades. If your really serious than just be prepared for the time it's gonna take.

 

[meanfoot]

I don't know about all that selective breeding stuff but I sure want one of those mantis in the pic

jim o.

 

[Krissim Klaw]

Only thing I would really love to breed into mantises is a longer life span. I already consider them to be perfect outside of that. At least with the Chinese mantises I deal with they make wonderful pets. Friendly, sweet little buggers.

I do believe you could breed for temperament though. Every mantis I have owned has had a different personality and when picking out the few I plan to raise out from the egg case I find myself looking for ones with similar traits. Not overly skittish, likes to track my face and willing crawls toward me. Strong prey drive and eagerly tackles prey.

 

[critterguy]

Silkworms and honeybees are the only ones we've truly domesticated so far.

I'm not sure why one would want to do that with mantids though.

 

[tnienhaus]

why wouldn't you want to do it with mantids?

Thats the real question...

P.S. Love the pic

 

[harryallard]

hahahha the pic!

gosh that would be so cool!

mantis walker to friend: "hey nice dog!"

friend: "hey nice... ######!?!"

 

[mrblue]

You can of course selectively breed for any trait that is genetic. Size and colore most definately

colur is dependent on too many other things such as humidity, background and type of light to be able to "breed for" any certain colour. i'm not even sure if genetics comes into it at all. as for size, i think this may have alot more to do with nutrition (and maybe other factors) than with genetics. i'm not so sure about that one though. but EVEN if it was genetic and you bred the biggest ones you could find of a certain species, the most you could hope for would be a very incremental increase in size (IF anything). and no, if you kept doing this every generation they would not get incrementaly bigger each generation (if at all). there is a maximum size each species can be, let alone mantids, let alone insects. as for "traits" such as aggressiveness or docility, i dont think these are genetic either. a big "no" all round i think.

 

[chun]

in a way, breeding mantids in captivity is a form of selective breeding for genotypes/genes which allow for optimal/maximum survival and breeding success in captivity. Take for example, we import 30 individuals of a new species. Captive environments (temperature, humidity, photoperiod, nutrition) can never be replicated completely as there are too many variables to consider and thus become a selective pressure on the breeding group; so consequently, individuals which are more prone to environmental stress (created by the new captive environments) will die and their "weaker" genes will disappear from the gene pool as well. So over generations of breeding, we are selectively breeding mantids which will survive and breed in man-made or not so favorable captive environments, like natural selection on small populations in a new environment.

 

[muleyyy]

of course you can selectively breed insects, they've been doing it with honey bee's for a long time now

look at the "killer bee's" that are like honey bee's but with a more agressive temperment due to crossbreeding

 

[mrblue]

of course you can selectively breed insects, they've been doing it with honey bee's for a long time nowlook at the "killer bee's" that are like honey bee's but with a more agressive temperment due to crossbreeding

honeybees, not mantids.

 

[mantidsaresweet]

Hey on this breeding subject, has anyone ever tried to cross breed two different sp. Idk if its possible but that would be sweet.

 

[The_Asa]

If we are dealing with the topic of size, then no, I don't believe that you could selectively breed mantids or any bugs like that. They will grow to a certain point, and then they will max out, there 's only so large that they can become, and that's not very large.

 

[idolomantis]

Hey on this breeding subject, has anyone ever tried to cross breed two different sp. Idk if its possible but that would be sweet.

not with mantids, but i,ve seen with tarantula,s a cros between brachypelma smithi and b. vagans.

 

[Christian]

not with mantids, but i,ve seen with tarantula,s a cros between brachypelma smithi and b. vagans.

You can of course produce hybrids in some species, but they are infertile, so no breeding experiments are possible. Even this was done in mantids only once.

in a way, breeding mantids in captivity is a form of selective breeding for genotypes/genes which allow for optimal/maximum survival and breeding success in captivity. Take for example, we import 30 individuals of a new species. Captive environments (temperature, humidity, photoperiod, nutrition) can never be replicated completely as there are too many variables to consider and thus become a selective pressure on the breeding group; so consequently, individuals which are more prone to environmental stress (created by the new captive environments) will die and their "weaker" genes will disappear from the gene pool as well. So over generations of breeding, we are selectively breeding mantids which will survive and breed in man-made or not so favorable captive environments, like natural selection on small populations in a new environment.

That's why introducing "new blood" can be counterproductive and the whole "inbreeding" stuff is just a myth. New stocks do better after some generations, not worse. If they breed worse after 3 generations that at beginning it's usually the fault of the breeder, not inbreeding. Possible exceptions don't brake the rule.