What is an egg-bed – and how do I recognise it?
Locusts usually lay eggs on bare damp ground. Female locusts may crowd together and lay large numbers of eggs in a patch of soil suitable for egg-laying. These areas are referred to as ‘egg-beds’ and the eggs are buried below the soil surface. Locust egg-beds are most easily detected while the locusts are laying eggs. While female locusts are laying eggs and have their abdomen poked into the soil they do not disturb and fly away as rapidly as normal. If egg-laying is not observed it is difficult to know the location of egg-beds prior to eggs hatching. The ground where locust eggs have been laid looks like a sieve with lots of shallow holes that are very close together. Female locusts will often make test drill holes in the soil without laying any eggs. When looking for egg-beds, care needs to be taken to ensure that sites where locusts have been test drilling are not mistaken as egg-beds and the actual extent of egg-laying is then over-estimated. People trying to identify locust egg-be
