# locust changing colour ????



## manni (Nov 26, 2010)

Hi everyone, 
can anyone tell me why all locusts i get eventually change colour. When i buy them and ive tried diffrent suppliers they start off nice and yellow then after a week they start going brown then almost black ???:gasp:

I load them with bug grub, fruit veggies etc and clean them out on a regular basis......... should i still feed them to my BD ?


thanks


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## Embo (Jun 7, 2012)

Mine only turn black if they die :hmm:

I get a lot of moults with mine and afterward they turn a pinkish colour, but I've never had one turn very dark or black whilst still alive.

What fruit/veg are you feeding? Maybe something to do with this, but I'm not an expert on locusts.


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## Alasse12 (Jul 29, 2011)

They do turn a brown/pink colour when they reach the adult phase. You may have a species that turns darker, not sure. I wouldn't worry about it, though. I'm sure your beardie won't mind eating different coloured locusts. You could contact the supplier to check with them, for peace of mind, but I wouldn't think it's an issue.


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## Natrix (Dec 9, 2006)

manni said:


> Hi everyone,
> can anyone tell me why all locusts i get eventually change colour. When i buy them and ive tried diffrent suppliers they start off nice and yellow then after a week they start going brown then almost black ???:gasp:
> 
> I load them with bug grub, fruit veggies etc and clean them out on a regular basis......... should i still feed them to my BD ?
> ...


I'm not a locust expert but I watched a program about them once.

When wild locusts are over crowded they go yellow in readyness to fly away in large groups (swarms) to new feeding grounds. Yellow makes it easy for them to see each other when flying and they don't need to hide from predators becuase there is safety in numbers.

When wild locusts are not over crowded they take on a solitary colour (dark brown/black) which is better for the camouflage they need to avoid getting eatern. 

My guess is that you are giving them lots of space which makes them go the darker colour for better camouflage. The colour doesn't make any difference to their edibility so you can still feed them to your animals.

Natrix


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## manni (Nov 26, 2010)

thanks for the reply Roger (bd) seems to still eat them a reptile shop said they go black if they have parasites...???? thanks again. : victory:


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