Locust swarms in India explained: What are they and how to kill them?

Over the past few days, swarms of locusts have been spotted in urban localities of Rajasthan, parts of Madhya Pradesh and the Vidharbha region of Maharashtra. Reportedly, migration of locusts in India started from Iran in 2019. Then the locust swarms reached Pakistan and on April 11 they were sighted along the India-Pakistan border. Locusts in India have moved to Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh proceeding to border areas of Uttar Pradesh. In the North-west locust attacks have been reported in Fazilka in Punjab from Pakistan. 

The worst-hit districts include Barmer, Jaisalmer, and Nagaur. As per government officials, due to the early migration of locusts in India, the entire state of Punjab has been put on alert. Farmers across the states which lie in the path of migration of the locust swarms have been asked to stay alert for any locust activity and inform the government employees immediately.

IMAGE CREDIT - @SRahulM (TWITTER)

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What is a locust and locust swarm?

Commonly known as the 'Desert locust', locusts carry the name ‘Schistocerca Gregaria’ in the scientific community. In simpler words, they are short-horned grasshoppers. While they seem quite unremarkable when solitary they undergo drastic behavioral changes as their numbers begin to spike. And fitting to their scientific name they enter the ‘Gregarious phase’ by forming locust swarms and begin traveling up to a distance of 150 km per day. When these locust swarms attack crops and disturb the agricultural and economy, it is known as locust plague.

History of locusts in India

Usually, locusts arrive in India during July and they are sighted till October along the Pakistan border. Last year some parts of Western Rajasthan and Northern Gujarat had reported that swarms had caused damage to the Rabi crops. However this year, they have arrived way earlier than expected. Another strange occurrence is that they are being sighted in urban areas of Rajasthan as well.

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Why did the locust swarms arrive early?

Their early arrival can be traced back to the cyclonic storms Mekunu and Luban. These storms struck Oman and Yemen consecutively in 2018. Due to the storms, large desert tracts of these countries turned into lakes which became a locust breeding ground. This led to their population skyrocketing through 2019. The Swarms began spreading in East Africa in November of 2019 being facilitated by heavy rains there. This caused a build up to reach in southern Iran and Pakistan since the beginning of 2020.

IMAGE CREDIT -@HassanMokibur (TWITTER)

Why are they being spotted in urban areas? Can they hurt humans?

This year locust swarm spottings in urban areas have raised eyebrows among experts and people alike. They are being sighted in cities like Jaipur, Gwalior, Sheopur, Amravati, etc. Deputy Director of LWO (Locust Warning Organization) K.L Gurjar, said that the absence of crops in the fields is a potential reason why the locusts have moved across states searching for green cover. He also added, “The swarms were aided by high-speed wind and thus they made their way to Jaipur.”

Keith Cressman, senior locust forecaster of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation has said that the locus swarms are migrating in search of food, hunting for green vegetation for food. Moreover, they are also searching for shelter where they will mature and lay eggs with the arrival of the monsoon in about five weeks. With COVID 19 upon us and the numbers of those infected plummeting, people have voiced concern about the locust attacks. But there is no evidence that suggests that locust swarms hurt humans or carry any diseases that could affect humans.

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Why are these locust attacks dangerous?

The arrival of locusts in India was reported in 1997 for the first time. Locust swarms eat up every bit of greenery on their way. They feed on a large variety of crops. If not controlled early on, locust swarms are capable of threatening the food security of a country.

It is predicted that at present, chances of locust swarms damaging crops in India are fairly low as farmers have already harvested their Rabi crop. While the orange farmers in Maharashtra have expressed alarm, Gurjar stated that the swarm in Maharashtra would be easy to control. In spite of the early arrival of locusts in India, we are not in high alert at the moment but the situation may get exacerbated once the present swarms begin breeding. It is important to remember that an adult female locust lays 80-90 eggs thrice in her three-month life cycle. If left uncontrolled, a swarm can grow rapidly up to 40-80 million locusts per square kilometer, Gurjar and other experts estimate. As the locusts begin laying eggs after the onset of monsoon and continue breeding for two more months, the newer generations of locust swarms will rise during the growth period of the Kharif crop.

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How to kill locust swarms and what happens next?

Locusts increase their population by 16,000 times in just 3 breeding seasons. In India, at present three to four swarms have been reported in Rajasthan and two or three in Madhya Pradesh. A small group has migrated to Maharashtra as well. 

The LWO, under the Ministry of Agriculture, has a team of 50 people monitoring and tracking the locust swarms. Drones are being used for aerial spraying of ‘Malathion 96’, which is an organophosphate insecticide. It is potentially more useful for areas without agriculture. For areas with agriculture, ‘Chlorpyrifos’ is being sprayed with the help of drones, tractor-mounted sprays, and even fire brigades. The Agriculture Minister of Rajasthan Lal Chand Kataria has conveyed that spraying the powerful malathion insecticide has helped in killing almost a full swarm of locusts at a pasture land.

The LWO has already carried out spraying over 21,675 hectares in Rajasthan so far. India has put an order of 60 specialized insecticide sprayers with the UK. Globally speaking, at present countries in the Horn of Africa such as Ethiopia, Somalia, and Kenya are witnessing one of the worst locust attacks in the last 25 years. We are still in a safe zone in comparison to some African countries. But we cannot leave the situation unmonitored in spite of the challenges with COVID19.