# Locust breeding experiment uk



## Bugmaniac (May 12, 2011)

*Bill and Julie*
* Locust breeding project 2011 *



* As Beardie keepers it was inevitable that our little monsters would favour the most expensive food source. We are by no means rich so we decided to try to limit costs by trying to breed our own colony of Desert Locusts. As it was our first attempt we have simply called it “Project A” and we have diarised everything we have done and taken a few pic’s.* 
* Like most other people we knew very little and trawled the net for information hoping for a well defined yet simple breeding plan. Herein began the first problem. It seemed that every time we checked out an article, web page or forum there was either very little detailed info or it was a contradiction to previous articles. We fielded out our idea to our local pet shops and again found very little in the way of useful information that was free so we opted to go for it on a trial and error basis using the snippets of data we had gathered from various sources. We don’t intend to bore the reader with scientific or technical data and we are based in the UK so all the info we provide may not be applicable everyone.*
* The idea was to utilise any equipment we already had and to keep the project costs to a minimum. We appreciate you may not have the same equipment. The key to success is to keep things very simple. Instead of an exo you could easily use a 6 inch deep stacker drawer or an old wooden cabinet etc (the kind your Gran use to have).*
* We wired up a light fitting (bayonet) and bought a bayonet to screw fixing convertor for about a pound ($2). It is not necessary but screw fitted lights tend to outlast bayonet fitted ones and there is less danger for your locusts and yourself.*
 *Equipment: *
 *Exo: 30x30x45 *
 *60 watt spot lamp*
 *Egg carton *
 *Thermometer *
 *Food and sand *
 *Jar of damp sand*
 *Carton of sand compost and water crystals combined*
 *Timer switch (not essential- we found a pack of three for £8 ($16**))*
 *Desert Locusts *







 *Aim:*
* To provide a light and heat source @ 32oC for 14 hours a day at minimal costs allowing for British climate fluctuations. We have not included a heat mat but if you have one all the better because you will be able to maintain temperatures at night when your light is not in use. This will be essential over the UK winter period if you are not going to remove the eggs to an incubator.*
 *Egg site material:*
* We have provided two different types of egg laying substrate to find out for ourselves which one works best. During our research we read many contrary arguments for both. The jar contains moistened children’s play sand (B&Q £2.99 ($6) for 25kg). We added 2 inches of water to the jar and filled it with the sand and never touched it after that. The Jar is about six inches high and full of sand.*
* We had read a great deal about people successfully reaching the egg laying stage only to fail at that point. Then we came across an article that suggested we sterilise the material. I took equal measures of sand and compost and sieved the lumps out (Kitchen sieve) and when the Missus was not looking I put the mixture in a dry frying pan and cooked it for about ten minutes. It did give off an odour and I got busted, but hey. Another method is to get permission to use the oven and place the mixture in a baking tray and cook at a moderate temperature for about an hour. When the mixture cooled I opted to be inventive and add some water crystals (they hold water and expand. Expensive in the pet shop or garden centre but we found ours in the pound shop) because anything with a compost base tends to dry out a lot. I added water and only had to spray the top of the tub to replicate rain. The bug tub is only about three inches deep so we filled it to the top.*
 *Food:*
* We blended all of our stale cereals and a few dog biscuits together and added to the exo as a staple food source. Fresh green food daily. Dandelion leaves, grass cuttings and left over vegetable cuttings. We sprayed the fresh food daily with water. *

 *Project A:*
* April 18..... The setup was completed and we added 15 adult locusts from our local pet store. The adults were mostly pink which begged our first question; how do you sex a locust (easily)? The simple answer is to wait and not let it bother you; the ratio is usually 50:50 so don’t let it concern you too much. The locusts are pink in colour because they have just matured into adults and it will take about two weeks for them to develop an adult sex colour (maturity). The males are a rich banana yellow in colour and are smaller than the females. In our experience so far we have also noted that the eyes of the males tend to be a green colour when ready for mating whereas the females have a red/brown coloured eye. The female is a buff/brown colour and is much bigger than the male. The male mounts the female. You can also tell by the tips of their abdomens but it’s not as easy as you think.*








* April 22..... The Locusts have settled in and appear less flighty and a few are sexually active, one or two of the sexually mature adult females are probing various areas looking for an egg site. We had to remove the fake rock face because one of the females actually managed to bore through it. The temperature is a constant 32oC. This is the optimum temperature to induce breeding (Australian Pest Control). A further search of the web suggested that grass cuttings were an aphrodisiac to locusts so we gave it a try. Less than an hour later there was an obvious increase in breeding activity! We had read that it was quite difficult to get locusts to breed but ours seem to be enjoying themselves. We noted nine bore holes but no frothy stuff. A few of the web sites suggested a gestation period of a week or so but we found that the female gets straight to it. Definitely within a couple of hours! An observation of the egg laying process suggests to us that the locusts are probing for any number of things before committing to the actual process of egg laying. I.E. Temperature, moisture, structure, depth etc. There were in excess of twenty holes but no evidence of froth.* 
* April 23..... Absolutely nothing happened all day. No breeding, No egg laying. We checked the net for more info and a few sights suggested that rainfall in the wild increases the urge for the locust to lay its eggs so at 2045hrs we sprayed the exo (avoiding the lamp) with water and by 2100hrs a successful egg laying had occurred. More interest was shown by the locusts in the compost mix material than there was in the sand. Although both were probed. It is worth noting that no grass cuttings were given this day. A resting period and adult immaturity could also explain today’s immobility.*






* April 26.....There has been four days of nothingness. No mating and no egg laying until today. One pair nested on the sand for in excess of an hour in a single visit. Unfortunately the sand at the top of the jar was dry and soon filled the hole left by the female so no foam was evident, however we are hopeful as another pair have probed seven holes in the compost mix but the visits were brief. Only a few minutes at a time. In the late evening we checked the nesting materials and noted several egg deposits through the glass and even more at the bottom of the plastic container. Looking for froth/foam as an indicator is not a guaranteed method of a successful egg clutch. There are in excess of 20 bore holes. The nesting boxes were placed in a spare viv with a 14 hour cycle of light and 30oC temp and left uncovered. We placed a small cut piece of net curtain over the tub.* 
* May 11..... Success... In excess of 50 locusts have hatched today (cute) from the sand. Small white casts were evident around the egg tube and the locusts were a vivid green. Adult locusts take great care around the hatchlings. About 5 hatched from the compost mix. Further examination of the nesting containers revealed that none of the visible eggs have hatched yet. We are wondering if this is because they are vulnerable to light. Under a 10x lens a few clear mite type creatures can be seen moving over the eggs. Surprising because the material was sterilised.*
 *Conclusion:*
*Under the conditions we provided, our locusts have successfully produced a batch of babies in 19 days. There may be many more to come. All of our adult locusts are still alive and showing interest in further breeding. There are at least another twenty egg sites remaining. Although we consider the exo may be a luxurious asset we do not believe it has made any difference to our experiment other than to give us greater visibility. No fancy material or food was necessary; Just a 60 watt light bulb. We have a similar setup in a two foot viv and it gives the same temperature output with the bulb positioned lower down. We did not need to remove the nesting material from the exo; we only did so because it would give the young’uns more space. The conditions were exactly the same.*​


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