What are locusts?
The desert locust is one of the 12 species of short-horned grasshoppers. Locusts swarms can travel up to 130 km in a day and each locust can consume about two grams of fresh vegetation i.e. equivalent to its own weight. A typical locust swarm can vary from less than one square kilometre to several hundred square kilometres.
They are unique in the way that they change their behavior – turning from solitary to “gregarious” or social insects that coalesce into a swarm and forage for food together
Origin
This swarm originated in the Horn of Africa, where excess rains triggered a breeding boom. According to Indian experts, the swarm entering India now had another round of breeding in Baluchistan, Iran and Pakistan.
Strength in numbers
*40-80 million locusts are estimated in a swarm that spreads over 1 square kilometre
*These many locusts can ravage crops equivalent to the feeding need of 35,000 people in a day
*Their life span is between 3-5 months. They become hoppers after a month and can start laying eggs when they 60-70 days old.
What damage can they cause?
The current upsurge is alarming in the Eastern Africa region. Over 25 million people will face acute food insecurity in the region in the second half of 2020. In Yemen, where locusts have been reproducing in hard-to-access inland areas, 17 million people may be impacted. A swarm of locust spread over a square kilometre can chew through food enough for 35,000 people in a day.
What are the economic consequences of locust attacks?
Locusts can destroy standing crops and devastate livelihoods of people in the agricultural supply chain. Locust attacks could pose a threat to food security, the Food and Agricultural Organization has warned. According to FAO, a one square kilometre swarm of locusts, with about 40 million locusts, can in a day eat as much food as 35,000 people, assuming that each individual consumes 2.3 kg of food per day.
What happens now?
If we are not able to control them, the sub adults will come back to their summer breeding area in the Thar desert bordering Pakistan. If there are good rains, they will lay eggs and lead to a new generation of desert locusts migrating to India again in a few months.
Can they be controlled?
They can fly as far as 150km a day, making them difficult to control. Locust swarms can cover extremely large areas, which can sometimes be extremely remote and difficult to access. FAO monitors locust swarms on a 24-hour basis and provides forecasts and early warning alerts on the timing, scale and location of movement. Traditional chemicals are used to control their numbers. Now nature-based biopesticides are also available as a less harmful alternative for controlling outbreaks
Can they hurt humans?
Locusts do not attack people or animals. There is no evidence that suggests that locusts carry diseases that could harm humans.
Farmer’s Suggestion
Farmers have been asked to keep the locusts away using loud sounds through drums, banging of utensils and shouting. The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has deployed drones, satellite-derived tools, special fire-tenders and sprayers at pre-identified border locations.
· Locusts can destroy standing crops and devastate livelihoods of people in the agricultural supply chain
· Scientists have attributed the May round of locust attack to a number of cyclones in the Indian ocean that hit a sandy area in the Arabian peninsula, which created breeding conditions for the locusts
· According to a report in TOI, locusts had entered Rajasthan in April and have covered 50,000 hectares of land thus far.
· After a sudden movement of a swarm of locusts were spotted on the outskirts of Jhansi district on Saturday evening, and millions of locusts were seen on trees and in Rana Heda village near Panbihar in Ujjain district, locusts made their way to the city of Jaipur on Monday.
· The locusts, which are considered to be among the most dangerous pests known to humanity, reproduce fast — 20-fold within three months — the FAO experts noted.
· An adult locust can eat quantity equal to its weight daily, and just a single square kilometre of the swarm can contain up to 80 million adults, they said.
댓글