Locusts

The Locust is an insect known as the Locusta migratoria, which after heavy rainfall, can form into huge swarms numbering millions that migrate and can cover 400 square miles (1,000 sq km) eating every crop in sight, causing devastation and Famine.
They live in a belt from Mauretania to Ethiopia, encompassing the Sahara Desert, and can cross into the Arabian Peninsular, Pakistan and Northwest India. A separate species lives in China called the oriental Locust.

This is a species of shorthorned Grasshopper, that is migratory, known as Locusta migratoria.
It will rapidly reproduce under certain conditions and form huge Swarms which can travel hundreds of miles.
There can be a period of many years without Locust Swarms, followed by a period of several years of Swarms.
They are edible and are considered a delicacy in the Sahel.

Normally, the Desert Locust lives alone.
It has a three stage Lifecycle lasting 3-5 months: Egg, Hopper, Adult.
However, after heavy rainfall, the rapid growth of vegetation encourages the female to lay its eggs, and the young Hoppers or Nymphs, hatch and feed together. This mass congregating triggers the change from solitary behaviour to swarming. As the Nymphs become adults, they change colour from the usual brown to become red or yellow.

Adults that swarm can fly hundreds of miles when carried by the wind.
They eat during the day and fly at night.
Locust Swarms regularly cross the Red Sea from Africa to Arabia.
They can travel up to 200 miles per night and fly up to an altitude of 6,000 feet, but cannot go over mountain ranges.
One swarm can cover 400 square miles (1,000 square kilometres) and will contain millions of Locusts.
They eat entire crops and vegetation in a whole area, destroying food supplies and bringing Famine.
All crops, vegetables, trees and plants are ravaged.

Swarms from Ethiopia and Somalia can cross the southern Red Sea and northwestern Indian Ocean using the Monsoon, and devastate Arabia, Iran, Pakistan, and Northwestern India.
From Pakistan, secondary infestations can also invade Afghanistan.
China has a separate species of Locust from the Locust in Africa, known as the Oriental Locust.

Swarms of Locusts formed the eighth Plague of the Ten Plagues of Egypt, recorded in the Book of Exodus in The Bible.
They are also recorded in ancient Libya, the Levant, Syria, Armenia, Mesopotamia, Persia and China.
A Plague of Locusts was thought to be a punishment from the Gods. The ancient World turned to prayer and sacrifice to appease the Gods and remove the Plague.

Insectisides
- Spraying insecticides on swarms from the air and on the nymphs on the ground, has been effective in reducing locust numbers.

1869
- A Desert Locust Swarms reached England.
1889
- A Locust Swarm covering 2,000 square miles (5,000 sq km) crossed the Red Sea.
1915
- A Locust Infestation in Palestine lasted from March to October.
1988 October
- A Giant Locust Swarm left Africa, crossed the Atlantic and reached the Caribbean Island of Barbados. Piles of dead locusts were washed up for days on the beaches.
2003-5
- Locust Infestation of Africa, started in autumn 2003, continued through 2004, and ended in 2005.
- It was caused by heavy rainfall from Senegal to Morocco.
- The swarms reached southern Portugal and the Canary Islands.

Locusts inhabit a belt from Mauretania to Ethiopia