Social media is abuzz with news related to the locust attack. According to previous reports, the locust storms have already invaded Madhya Pradesh and about 16 districts of Rajasthan and has caused huge destruction.
Now, after invading MP and Rajasthan, they are heading towards Delhi and the adjoining national capital region (NCR).
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.
Video clips of attack present on the web show a scary number of locusts devouring the skies.
If you are wondering what exactly are Desert Locusts, here's the answer...
What is Desert Locusts?
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.
According to the National Geographic website, the size of the desert locust is somewhere between 0.5 to 3 inches and weighs around 0.07 ounces.
Species of Desert Locusts know to world & India
10 species of locusts are known to the world. The name of these species are - The Desert Locust, The Bombay Locust, The Migratory Locust, The Italian Locust, The Moroccan Locust, The Red Locust, The Brown Locust, The South American Locust, The Australian Locust, The Tree Locust.
There are 4 types of the locust is reported in India and they are Desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria), Migratory locust (Locusta migratoria) Bombay Locust (Nomadacris succincta) and Tree locust (Anacridium sp.).
Facts about Desert Locusts...
1. Do you know Locust swarms can cover vast distances and some species may travel 81 miles or more a day?
2. An average small locust swarm eats as much food in one day as about 10 elephants, 25 camels, or 2500 people.
3. Locusts can even change color and body shape when they move into this phase.
4. A desert locust swarm can be 460 square miles in size and pack between 40 and 80 million locusts into less than half a square mile.
5. More than 64 countries (whole or parts) are affected due to desert locust.
6. There could be as many as 80 million locusts in a swarm.
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 "Pic credit - Twitter @ChandralalBasu1")
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