The Affects of Inbreeding

[SkittishMale]

I am wanting to know if it is okay to breed mantids that hatched from the same ooth. Is this okay? and if so, how many generations can you go through before the mantids start to fail? Is inbreeding an issue in breeding mantids?

How many of you breed mantids from the same ooth? I would like to know your experiences because I want to know if it is necessary to aquire mantids from different bloodlines to prevent inbreeding or if that is a waste of time/money with captive mantids.

 

[SilentDeviL]

My PW. r on 2nd gen before it was passed to me It was inbreed god knows how many gens lol ... It is better to get New blood line if u can but u will not see them start to fall 1-10x gen . my ghost is 4th Gen they still breed and hatch rate is still high .so U should warrie if u have keep1 sp for more then 10 gen if the ooth u got from mated female is not hatching or have low hatch rate then u start to think of getting new blood line .

 

[Paradoxica]

Here's an interesting article on UKMF: http://www.ukmantisforums.co.uk/content.php?r=109-Is-Inbreeding-Bad

 

[nirotorin]

That's interesting. I thought they were primitive enough to not have to worry about inbreeding. Good to know they aren't.

 

[Rick]

I think in general it is fine for the hobbyist to breed from the same ooth. I know I did it many generations over and never noticed any adverse effects. I am willing to bet most hobbyists do it as well. It often is impractical to mate two mantids from different ooths. I would assume that most stock in a particular country is inbred to some degree. If you can get new stock for mating then by all means do it, but it is unlikely you will have any issues by inbreeding mantids.

 

[reptilia5]

Thank you for that question. I never thought about in-breeding in mantids. I breed my own rats for my Acrantophis dumerili and for credits at my local pet store. I have bred rats from the same blood line for almost 4 years. It seems to have made the rats stronger, healthier and bigger. I have not experienced any pup /juvenile mortality more than usual or birth defects and litter counts are always over 10 babies per birth. Many Acrantophis dumerili in the pet trade are very inbred but the breeders swear that it makes the snakes more resistant to IBD and URI. If in-breeding is not a problem for rats and snakes then it should not be any problem for insects.But of course rats,snakes and mantises are totally different animals.

 

[Rick]

I came across a journal article where the researchers tested the paternity of different ooths. In a few cases they found various fathers contributing to a single ooth.

 

[hibiscusmile]

I find a few generations are ok, after that.... SPLAT! :tt2:

 

[Krissim Klaw]

I came across a journal article where the researchers tested the paternity of different ooths. In a few cases they found various fathers contributing to a single ooth.

It would make sense since most females seem to continue to call even after they have successfully mated. The more boys, the better the genetic spread.

 

[SkittishMale]

Thanks to everyone for discussing the topic. It's good to know that inbreeding isn't a big problem with mantids.

Rick is right about it being impractical to worry about breeding mantids from different ooths. It would be too much work for something that isn't really an issue for the most part anyway. Especially if the mantids are only being bred to be kept as "pets" anyway. It is good to hear that many people don't experience any adverse affects with their cultures despite the constant inbreeding over many generations.

Thank you Paradoxica for providing that article. It was an interesting read.

 

[devetaki9]

I intend to go after a certain color in my Tenoderas and I will be line breeding but I also have some out crossed stock in there so I feel better about line breeding for a couple of generations.

Having raised rabbits, other rodents, Arabians , huskies(etc), goats, fowl, psittacines.... You get the point.. Inbreeding over several generations is not a positive thing. I am new to breeding insects and in my own mind I will do everything I can to keep some new blood in there while attempting to breed a color to true. This may not be possible and I have research to do I'm sure.