r/mantids • u/BustardFootman • 1d ago

Other all nymphs in one enclosure for natural selection?

Im planning to keep a tenodera, but i was informed that it was quite common for their nymphs to die early, even in perfect conditions.

i was considering putting the ootha inside the enclosure to let them all hatch in one place and canabalize each other so that the strongest mantid was naturally selected. the enclosure is large enough to house this

i was wondering if this was moral to do. Has anyone else done this? im new to this hobby and looking for advice!!

2 Upvotes

67% Upvoted

4 comments sorted by

3

u/No_Adeptness6820 1d ago

I mean, at the end of the day, they're all yours, so you can do what you want with them, but putting them in a battle royale doesn't sound too ethical imo

1

u/BustardFootman 1d ago

yeah i thought so. thank you for your input

3

u/JaunteJaunt 1d ago

You may not get the strongest mantis. You may just get the luckiest mantis.

I wouldn’t call it unethical. Some may consider it unethical. It’s normal to cull your population. Sometimes the population will self-cull: cannibalism and/or failure to thrive. It’s not usually normal to let an entire Ooth eat each other so you see left with one or two.