Quick Facts
Locusts
Schistocerca Gregaria
General Information
Files And Media
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Adult female locusts can have upto 300 young each in a 3 week period
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Female adult locust lay egg sacks in soil or sand
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locust nymphs cannot fly only hop
Diet
The diet of a desert locust is wide and varied and they are not fussy eaters requiring a specific diet. Locust can eat vast amounts off food and are considered one of the worst pest spices. diet can be broken down in to 3 sections. Carbohydrates protein and moisture.
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Carbohydrates- Bread oats and nuts are recommended as the main source of carbs for the insects. They should also be fed vegetables for extra carbs and micro nutrients.
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Protein- The most overlooked part of any insect diet is protein. Many insect keepers make the mistake of giving no protein source whatsoever, this mistake leads to cannibalism and egg eating as well as less egg production and laying.
I would recommend dry or wet cat or dog food. If the food is dry it will need to be crushed first. You can also use nuts, soybeans and or egg powder.
Moisture- Insects can get all of there moisture from vegetables. I would recommend cucumber as the best source for this but almost every vegetable can be used but you should avoid citrus and acidic fruits. You could also mist to keep the insects more healthy. Bug gel could also be used but can be expensive. Bug gel will eliminate food molding.
Locusts are commonly yellow insects that hop and fly in swarms at speeds up to 33km a hour!
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Locusts commonly sold in pet shops as reptile feed are desert locusts native to the middle east/africa. They swarm in large numbers and can wipe out entire food crops in the region.
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They have a 8 week lifespan with adults being quite large at 55-70 mm long, although large they are clumsy and harmless.
Adult locusts can hop very far for there size up to 0.9M.
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Female locusts lay up to 5 egg sacks over there adult life in the sand or soil with each egg sack containing up to 30 locust nympths
Life Cycle
Desert locusts common in the live food industry go threw 3 life stages and do not go threw metamorphosis so there is no pupa stage.
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The life stages of a destert locust is-
egg- 10 days+ to hatch depending on temperature
nymph- young locust/ sub adult
adult- can live for up to 6 months depending on conditions.
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when a adult female locust has mated she will begin to incubate a egg sack. When ready she will deposit quite a large egg sack in moist soil or sand.
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The egg sack can contain up to 100 locust eggs but more commonly around 30, the eggs are around 1cm long and are a sand color. The egg sack can be easily seen by eye and removed form the soil but you will need to keep them hydrated as the egg sack absorbs moisture form the surrounding soil.
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What Is Your Shipping Policy?We Ship all uk orders via Royal Mail only and Parcel Force who are owned by Royal Mail for larger packages. all orders have tracking that will be sent to you via email. ETA for shipping to uk mainland is 1-3 business days. We ship international with a ETA of 20-40 days for cheap postage and around 14 tracked days for the more expensive option at checkout. Please note Australia wont allow clay or wheat bran to be imported.
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Are Your Insects Safe?Yes! All our feeder insects are 100% safe for humans and pets to handle and consume and carry no disease or parasites!. Some of our pet insects such as tarantulas and scorpions may bite or sting but this is very unlikely and will not be harmful apart from a small amount of pain.
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Can I Keep Insects In A Garage Or Shed?Yes! Many of our kits are supplied with heat mats and or bulbs to keep insects warm. As Long as you have power you can keep any insect in a out building. If you don't have access to power you will still be able to keep many insects in a garage or shed but please check the product descriptions to see what temperature range is ok for a given insect spices.
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How Long Does It Take To Breed Feeder Insects?Mealworms: 14 days from egg Crickets: around 14 days from egg Dubia Roaches: 40-50 days live birth
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Why Aren't My Beetles Breeding?Beetles need a place to lay there eggs, A common mistake is not having a deepenoth bran/grain layer for them to lay in. They will also lay a lot more eggs if you include egg crates and or cut up bits of cardboard held together with elastic bands or glue. cardboard is especially good as it creates lots of little gaps for them to lay eggs with there ovipositor.
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Why Are My Beetle's Deformed?It is most likely a calcium deficiency as there exoskeleton is made up of mostly calcium and there commonly fed diet of carrots and wheat bran has very little. To cure this issue sprinkle some calcium powder or very finely crushed egg shells into their grain substrate. This will also prevent any cannibalism and egg eating.