Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Farhan, Muhammad
• Kanwal, Amina
• Hakeem, Khalid Rehman
• Riaz, Umair

Titel

Introduction, Historical Background, and Current Status of Desert Locusts

Ist Teil von

• Locust Outbreaks, 2024, p.1-21

Auflage

1

Ort / Verlag

United Kingdom: Apple Academic Press

Erscheinungsjahr

2024

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

Alma/SFX Local Collection

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Locusts belong to the family Acrididae and are included in the subgroups of short-horned grasshoppers, they have swarming phase. Usually, they are solitary, but with the increase in number, they can change their habit and behavior and can become gregarious (Table 1.1). Locusts are usually innocuous, especially when their member/density is low and do not pose major damage to crops (Crook et al., 2020). However, under drought conditions and followed by rapid vegetation growth, their number begins to increase rapidly. This is due to the serotonin (secreted by brain) which imparts drastic set of changes in their body, their breeding increases their number abundantly, and they start becoming nomadic and gregarious. They form colonies of wingless nymphs which later develop into winged adults (Yang et al., 2020). They can fly to greater distances and have a tendency to consume most of the green vegetations whatever comes in their way or whereever the swarms settle. They are responsible for causing plagues, famines, and human migrations since pre-history. These are mentioned in 2the Bible, the Mahabharata, and the Iliad. Locusts were carved on ancient Egyptians tombs. Recent developments in agricultural practices have enabled us to have better control over locusts. They are edible, and in many countries, they are expensive, rare, and highly desirable (Zhen et al., 2020). Locusts belong to the family Acrididae and are included in the subgroups of short-horned grasshoppers, they have swarming phase. Usually, they are solitary, but with the increase in number, they can change their habit and behavior and can become gregarious. Locusts were carved on ancient Egyptians tombs. Because of a worldwide increase in climate change phenomenon and rise in temperature, in 2020, the number of locusts could possibly increase by 64 million times; this could terribly flare-up the locust outbreak compared to last 100 years. The trapped locusts may later be killed or fed to chickens. Remote sensing is also gaining popularity in order to monitor the locust breeding sites, developing areas, and migration routes, but this approach is limited in use only for large-scale outbreak. Desert locusts are difficult to control, but the strategies necessary for the control include proactive monitoring, initial intervention, and focused implementation.