Consecutive mating of black soldier fly males to produce full- and half-sibling offspring

Kim Jensen, Sarah Thormose, Natasja Krog Noer, Toke Munk Schou, Morten Kargo, Anton Gligorescu, Jan Værum Nørgaard, Roos Marina Zaalberg, Hanne Marie Nielsen, Torsten N. Kristensen

Research output: Contribution to conferenceConference abstract for conferenceResearch

Abstract

In animal breeding programs, utilizing quantitative genetic designs such as full/half sibling design is fundamental. This however demands that mating can be controlled, including having individual males mating with several females. In the literature, black soldier fly (BSF) males and females are reported to have to gather in lekking groups to engage in competitive displays and courtship rituals before they will mate. This lekking behavior is described as crucial for establishing suitable mating conditions, and mating of BSF pairs or individual sires is therefore assumed impossible. We show that an individual virgin male can be successfully mated with an individual virgin female. Furthermore, we show that an individual male can mate several virgin females, in our experiment up to four, consecutively within up to four hours and produce eggs and offspring with each mated female. Our findings pave the way for moving beyond mass selection to now include pedigree information in BSF breeding. This has the potential to allow selection for multiple traits simultaneously, control inbreeding, and increase rates of selection responses compared to phenotypically based mass selection.
Original languageEnglish
Publication date2024
Publication statusPublished - 2024
EventEAAP Florence, Italy -
Duration: 1 Sept 20245 Sept 2024

Conference

ConferenceEAAP Florence, Italy
Period01/09/202405/09/2024

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