The swarm of locusts flies throughout the day, and in the evening they sit on trees
Delhi and Uttar Pradesh have been put on high alert as swarms of locusts make their way to India for the breeding season.
When it comes to breeding, the female lay two eggs after mating. The eggs are laid 6 inches deep inside the ground by digging a hole and marking the entrance of the hole with a white powder.
After 12 days, clefts emerge from the eggs, who become adults within 30 days.
The swarm of locusts flies throughout the day, and in the evening they sit on trees. They stay overnight on trees, and as soon as the morning comes, they fly in droves, laying to waste farmlands by wiping out crops.
A pesticide called Malathian is sprayed to kill them.
The authorities have warned about extensive crop losses if authorities fail to stop its spreading by June with the potential to kill crops when monsoon rains spur rice, cane, corn, cotton, and soybean sowing.
These locusts have India after traveling from Africa through Yemen, Iran, and Pakistan.
According to scientists, the locust swarms threaten major damage to foliage and as such, can prove to be extremely detrimental to the capital city, considering that a major section of it is under green cover. Moreover, the threat is especially prominent this year because the desert locust storms are usually solitary or in small groups, but this year an unusually large swarm has been noticed.
The locusts are also peculiarly ahead of their normal time of arrival in June and July, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has noted. The swarm is currently active in Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh, which is the most affected state. The insects are currently headed towards Delhi and parts of Uttar Pradesh where they have not yet reached, provided they find wind conditions favourable for arrival.
The desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria; Gryllus gregarius) is a species of locust, a swarming short-horned grasshopper in the family Acrididae. It is one of the most devastating migratory pests in the world and it is highly mobile and feeds on large quantities of any kind of green vegetation, including crops, pasture, and fodder.
Accordingly, the threat level is primarily high for the farmers, since their livelihood is directly under attack from these pests. Given India is largely an agriculture-based economy and that the farmers' backbone in this country has been constantly dealing with crises originating due to the COVID-19 lockdown, the scare is worse this time around.
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