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Papers
- Desert Locusts (Wikipedia.org)
"Plagues of the desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria) have threatened agricultural production in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia for centuries. The livelihood of at least one-tenth of the world’s human population can be affected by this voracious insect. The desert locust is potentially the most dangerous of the locust pests because of the ability of swarms to fly rapidly across great distances. It has two to five generations per year."
- Desert Locusts: Life Cycle (Biology-Resources.com)
"The range of the adult locusts is so great that international cooperation is essential for effective control. A swarm may originate in India but cause devastating damage to crops in Africa. Sixty countries in Asia and Africa are threatened by swarms of the desert locust."
"The main method of control is by spreading poisoned bait, for example bran containing insecticide, in the path of the migrating bands of hoppers. The insecticide kills them by being eaten and by its contact with their bodies. Poisoned bait can be used only when the locality of the hoppers is known, and a careful watch must be kept over wide areas so that swarms are discovered as soon as possible after they emerge. The information is then sent to anti-locust centres, e.g. in Nairobi or London, and trucks and personnel are mobilized to take the bait to the appropriate location."
- Desert Locusts: Managing Swarms (BBC News)
"By keeping track of a swarm's density, it may be possible to lay insecticide barriers in front of the locusts before the swarm's density decreases, and the insect's behaviour changes again, leading to new swarms heading in new directions."
- Desert Locusts: Monitoring Swarms (Columbia.edu)
"The Desert Locust Information Service (DLIS) from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) collaborates with the National Locust Units to collate, summarize and analyze field data (e.g., vegetation, rainfall, locust and control information) in order to assess the current situation and forecast the scale, timing and location of locust breeding and migration (more information). The warnings, assessments and forecasts produced by DLIS are used by affected countries to plan survey and control operations and by the international donor community to target assistance, especially during emergencies."
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