What is the relationship between locusts and ecology?
When conditions are favourable for reproduction, locust numbers increase and when they are not, numbers decrease either by natural mortality or through migration. For the Desert Locust, favourable conditions for breeding are (1) moist sandy or sand/clay soil to depths of 10-15 cm below the surface, (2) some bare areas for egg-laying, and (3) green vegetation for hopper development. Often favourable conditions may exist in the desert but there are no locusts present. Therefore, the presence of moist soil and green vegetation does not automatically mean that there are locusts around!
When conditions are favourable for reproduction, locust numbers increase and when they are not, numbers decrease either by natural mortality or through migration. For the Desert Locust, favourable conditions for breeding are (1) moist sandy or sand/clay soil to depths of 10-15 cm below the surface, (2) some bare areas for egg-laying, and (3) green vegetation for hopper development. Often favourable conditions may exist in the desert but there are no locusts present. Therefore, the presence of moist soil and green vegetation does not automatically mean that there are locusts around! • Why do locusts change their behaviour? As Desert Locusts increase in number and become more crowded, they change their behavior from that of acting as an individual (solitarious) insect to that as acting as part of a group (gregarious). The appearance of the locust also changes: solitary adults are brown whereas gregarious adults are pink (immature) and yellow (mature). Up until 1921, it was thought that t
