inbreeding is most probably an disadvantageous issue too when breeding insects, though maybe not to the same extend it is for vertebrates. With this in mind, one tends to think that it is better to mix one's culture with other "similar yet fresh" cultures.
But following this line of thought, wouldn't it be even better to fully eliminate an old culture and replace it with a "fresh-out-of-nature" culture, than mixing an old culture (with a potentially degenerated gen pool) with a "fresh-out-of-nature" culture?
Similarly nobody in his right mind would put an old, worn down engine in a new car :)
Reading this reminded me of the chinch bugs I heard about last week. My boyfriend was reading a google book titled 'Annual Report on the Noxious, Beneficial and Other Insects of the State of ..' and he read out excerpts about how the chinch bugs bred in a geometric progression. It was real hard for me to imagine such large number of bugs. I find it fascinating that numbers in nature vary dramatically across species; we have low numbers of endangered rhinos and these massive numbers for creatures which are so tiny!
Hi, keeping them pure is…
Hi,
keeping them pure is really important, usually you dont need to worry with inbreeding.
Its not a big deal with most Insects.
best regards
Simon
inbreeding is most probably…
inbreeding is most probably an disadvantageous issue too when breeding insects, though maybe not to the same extend it is for vertebrates. With this in mind, one tends to think that it is better to mix one's culture with other "similar yet fresh" cultures.
But following this line of thought, wouldn't it be even better to fully eliminate an old culture and replace it with a "fresh-out-of-nature" culture, than mixing an old culture (with a potentially degenerated gen pool) with a "fresh-out-of-nature" culture?
Similarly nobody in his right mind would put an old, worn down engine in a new car :)
Reading this reminded me of…
Reading this reminded me of the chinch bugs I heard about last week. My boyfriend was reading a google book titled 'Annual Report on the Noxious, Beneficial and Other Insects of the State of ..' and he read out excerpts about how the chinch bugs bred in a geometric progression. It was real hard for me to imagine such large number of bugs. I find it fascinating that numbers in nature vary dramatically across species; we have low numbers of endangered rhinos and these massive numbers for creatures which are so tiny!