LOCUSTS STEPS INTO CHHATTISGARH

LOCUSTS STEPS INTO CHHATTISGARH

·         Desert locusts enter into two villages of Chhattisgarh’s Korea district from neighbouring Madhya Pradesh.

·         Locust: The word "locust" is derived from the Vulgar Latin locusta, meaning grasshopper

 

·         Locusts are a collection of certain species of short-horned grasshoppers in the family Acrididae that have a swarming phase

·         Locusts are usually solitary, but under certain circumstances they become more abundant and change their behaviour and habits, becoming gregarious

·         The adults are powerful fliers; they can travel great distances, consuming most of the green vegetation wherever the swarm settles

·         The migratory locust, sometimes classified into up to 10 subspecies, swarms in Africa, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand, but has become rare in Europe

·         The desert locust is probably the best known species owing to its wide distribution (North Africa, Middle East, and Indian subcontinent) and its ability to migrate over long distances. 

·         North America is currently the only continent besides Antarctica without a native locust species.

·         The Rocky Mountain locust was formerly one of the most significant insect pests there, but it became extinct in 1902. Today, the High Plains locust is a rare species, leaving North America with no regularly swarming locusts.