Locusts are a common pest in agriculture, especially in the Middle East. They can spread quickly and easily from one area to another.
The swarms are causing damage to crops and putting food security at risk. They are also a threat to wildlife in the areas they inhabit.
1. Where Can You Find Green Locusts?
Locusts are migratory insects that crisscross swaths of land, eating anything they find along the way. They are a pest that can affect food security worldwide, especially in Africa and Asia where they can cause serious damage to crops.
There are many types of locusts. Some are migratory and can be found across the world, while others are more localized. Some are more destructive than others, though.
When locusts swarm, they are often called plagues or ‘locust outbreaks’. These swarming events can be very difficult to control and can happen at any time.
To help prevent and control swarms, experts can look at past weather patterns and historical locust records to predict where swarms might occur. They can then spray an area before swarms arrive to kill any potential swarmers.
Green locusts can be a challenging species to photograph, but they can be incredibly beautiful once they’re out of their solitary phase and start forming bands. Those bands can be several kilometers long, resembling a tide mark on the shore.
2. What Lens to Use for Green Locusts?
If you’re taking photos of green locusts, it’s a good idea to use a high-quality lens. This will help you to get the best possible image quality and keep your eyes protected from the sting of the bug’s wings.
In addition, you’ll want to make sure that you have a good telephoto lens on your camera. This will allow you to capture a lot of detail on the insect.
This is especially important if you’re planning to shoot some nymphs during a gregarious phase of their life cycle, when they’ll be more active than they’ve ever been. In this phase, their endurance increases and they’ll be able to run for longer distances.
Locusts can undergo extreme density-dependent phenotypic plasticity, in which they can shift from being a solitary species to a gregarious one when their environment becomes more crowded. This gregarious phase is when these insects’ colouration and behaviour changes dramatically.
3. In Which Countries Can You Find Green Locusts?
Locusts are a diverse group of insects with over 19 species distributed across Africa, Asia, Australia, and South America. They are a major pest in many parts of the world, and they are also considered a delicacy in some regions (Chinese locust).
A locust can be a significant threat to crops in agricultural areas when outbreaks occur. It feeds primarily on plants in the family Poaceae, which is one of the world’s largest plant families with over 10,000 species.
However, during outbreaks they can damage a broad range of other crops, including cereals, sugar cane, citrus, maize, banana, and other crops in the family Sapindaceae. During a drought, a locust can also feed on trees and shrubs in the family Eucalyptaceae.
In Australia, yellow-winged locusts are common in subcoastal and coastal regions with more than 500 mm of annual rainfall. They are a significant agricultural pest and can cause economic losses to cropland when they swarm.
In East Africa, the desert locust has invaded Kenya and Uganda, causing extensive damage to crops and livestock. It is a major food security, environmental, and economic threat to the region and is expected to spread northward into Sudan and Chad. Identifying potential breeding sites is crucial to prevent devastating damage and minimize the cost of a costly control program.
