What are LOCUSTS and its LIFE CYCLE ?? How do they ATTACK?

Locusts

Common name :           Locusts

Scientific name:           Acrididae

Type:                             Invertebrates

Diet                               Herbivore

Size                              0.5 to 3 inches

Weight                          0.07 inches I

Its size is related to paper clip. it is spread out in almost every region of the world. they are also related to grasshoppers but grasshoppers are innocuous. they destroy almost all the crops and then cause serious damage to the fields. locusts also destroy many societies including humans.

 Locusts related to grasshoppers

locusts and grasshoppers are same in appearance but the difference between them is that locusts show two types of behavior ( gregarious and solitary) whereas, grasshoppers do not show. locusts can migrate from one place to another whereas, the grasshoppers do not migrate. they can migrate only in low distances whereas, locusts can migrate over long distances.

what do locusts eat?

Locusts can eat only green leaves and also the different tissues of plants. locusts are known to be strong fliers than grasshoppers. locusts are a group of short- horned  grasshoppers. they are either solitary or gregarious. Due to locusts many people die. Eating swarming locusts wasn't dangerous.  

Behavior of locusts

Locusts look like grasshoppers. They both have a big hind leg that help them to move from one place to another. Locusts are totally different from grasshoppers. Locusts are forced to go to to patchy areas of land with the remaining vegetation. Then a hormone which is named as serotonin released by a Locusts and this is released by the central nervous system that makes them social able and then promote rapid movements related to appetite.

Life cycle of a locusts

Locusts can move through different phases before maturing into flying adults. At some point in their life cycle they can turn into grgarious point to another if the right conditions are present. 

Origin of Locusts

The locusts came from India in Pakistan.  India and Pakistan both these countries faced a mild attack of locusts.The locusts can harm only crops. These insects came from India and then spread in almost all regions of the world and damage all crops.

Prime minister of India which is named as Narendra Modi said in a Sunday radio address that locusts can harm our crops and can destroy them so to stop this we should help farmers and to reduce the losses by using some modern techniques.

where did locusts came from?

In Pakistan locusts came from Iran and have already destroy crops in over 60 districts of Punjab. Locusts are omnivorous species and can migrate from one place to another. They also cross the boundaries and can fly over thousands of kilometres in swarms. This attack of locusts came in different countries just because of corona virus which is the pandemic covid-19.

Purpose of locusts

The only purpose of locusts is to destroy all the agricultural economy. these insects are usually solitary and harmful but besides this most of the people eat these locusts and also used for eating purposes they don't know about their side effects. A desert locusts can lives for about 3-5 months. they only depend on weather and ecological conditions. The locusts can be seen in India for the first time in 1993, it has been seen that Pakistan can face a loss of RS 500 billion if preventive measures are not taken.

Locusts and the bad weather

 Sometimes the farmers can compare locusts with the bad weather because they destroy their crops immediately. At night, the trees, bushes and the earth, these insects that is brown in color is moving. The sky looks clear and the insects were flying across it.

  

How we keep locusts away??

To keep locusts away the farmers burn big type of fire to produce smoke and to throw locusts away from their house. The farmers thought that only smoke could keep the flying insects away.

Sometimes the farmers were warned about the attack of locusts. They were fully prepared to face the situation. Old Stephen and also his son Richard had cleared their farms at seven places. They made a plan in this regard, to burn big fires so that the locusts can go somewhere. They burn big fires at those places where locusts are present in high amount.

Government steps up measures to control locusts

cotton crops in some areas of Rajhasthan and Punjab, besides pulses and vegetables can also affected by locusts But it is our duty to control this before sowing of Kharif crops begins in June.

The immature locust is very active and their mobility creates difficult for this to control the swarm and it takes 4 to 5 days Usually locusts swarms enter the desert area through Pakistan for summer breeding in the month of June or July.

How do you control a locusts attack?

The agricultural minister of  Rajasthan has conveyed that by spraying powerful Malathion insecticide that can helped in killing the locusts at a pasture land. Locusts do not attack on animals or humans.Immature locusts have a longer lifespan and have the capacity to cause more harm in fields. 

                      written by:   Hadia Khalid