Locust Attack In India 2020
India is currently witnessing an unusual locust attack
cited to be the worst such attack since 1993.
Rayadurgam in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh on 28th May
Locust attack on crops.
what are locusts?
locusts are insects that belong to the Grasshoppers' family.
How long does a locust live for?
They have a life span of 90 days.
Present attacks in India, Desert locusts name insect.
Each flock of desert locusts is called a swarm.
Around 80 lakh locusts can be in a swarm.
The locust travels 12 miles per hour.
There are 4 types of locusts-
1.Desert locust
2.Migratory locust
3.Bombay locust
4.Tree locust
What does a plague of locusts mean?
This year, Desert Locusts have created a plague its
once in a three-decade situation after wreaking havoc
in East Africa due to heavy rains, locusts entered India
from Iran and Pakistan following the monsoon winds.
why is it a threat to India?
Desert locusts are voracious food eater.
which can eat food equal to their body weight every day.
1km square size swarm contains up to 40 million locusts!
& that a single swarm can finish food for around 35,000
people in a day.
2-3 km long chain of locusts has been spotted in India.
locust travels 12 miles per hour.
Locusts are known to prey on everything in their path
This is what they are doing in several states of India,
posing an unprecedented threat to the food supply &
livelihoods of millions of people.
when locusts are migrant, locusts raid green crops & feed
on nearly all green vegetation, threatening major damage to
standing cotton crops & vegetables.
When many of locusts descend on a crop, they destroy
everything which is now haunting the farmers in India.
A women locust lays 80-90 eggs thrice in her
three-month life cycle.
If it left uncontrolled a swarm can grow exponentially to
40-80 million locusts per square kilometre!
The fields of Rajasthan, Gujarath, Maharastra, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh are the present highly - affected states.
CAN LOCUSTS HARM HUMANS?
Locust does not attack people or animals.
No evidence suggests that locusts carry diseases
that could harm humans.
HOW TO CONTROL LOCUSTS?
They can be killed using chemicals that can be applied in small concentrated doses.
Indian Food and agricultural organization (FAO) has laid out
a standard operating procedure to deal with locust menace.
We hope that this hazard is eliminated soon!