Those famous insects from the Ten Plagues of Egypt – are grasshoppers that, under certain conditions, are capable of gathering into huge flocks. The transition from single locusts to swarms of locusts probably occurs following unusually abundant winter rains that moisten the soil and create favorable conditions for laying eggs and protecting them from drying out. In addition, the rains help develop rich vegetation that provides the insects with food and shelter from predators. The abundant food allows female locusts to lay about 150 eggs per year instead of about forty in a normal year. In these favorable conditions, the grasshoppers reproduce rapidly. A single locust swarm can include up to 150 million individuals per square kilometer of agricultural land. The hungry insects eat all the vegetation in the area and leave behind enormous destruction.
Of all the locust species, the desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria) is the most destructive , as each one can devour its own body weight in food every day. Such swarms may number hundreds of millions of insects and travel 150 kilometers per day.
The main problem in places where locusts strike is that usually in these areas the various crops that local farmers cultivate are their main source of food for the year. The damage that locusts leave behind can cause severe hunger and even death in the areas where they strike.
Locust in the world
Millions of locusts have already destroyed tens of thousands of dunams of agricultural land, destroyed crops and much fodder, and led to the death of many livestock, mainly in Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya. They continue to multiply and are gradually spreading to many other countries in the east of the continent and the Horn of Africa. Local governments and international agencies are investing great efforts to control the spread of the locusts, using spraying aircraft, spraying drones, and ground sprayers, but so far the plague that continues to strike has not been controlled.
The UN fears that the number of insects in the locust swarms will increase 500-fold and they will reach thirty different countries. The resources needed to fight the developing disaster have also increased accordingly. After the UN requested donations of about seventy million dollars in January to finance its operations against the new locust plague, it is now asking for $138 million . The stated goal: “To urgently support both pest control and livelihood protection operations in the three most affected countries.”
The cultivation of locusts has led to a significant worsening of the situation and an increase in locust swarms in many countries: on both sides of the Red Sea – in the Arabian Peninsula and in East Africa. Eggs that were laid have hatched, young insects have become adult locusts, and their overall number has increased. Swarms that began their journey on the coasts of Sudan, Egypt, Eritrea, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia are now also migrating to more inland areas deep in the Black Continent. Another problem is expected to grow eastward from there, as heavy rains fell in Iran, India, and Pakistan last winter, which provided the locusts with optimal growing conditions for at least two generations. As a result, a significant increase in the number of locusts is expected. In early February, Pakistan even declared a state of emergency .
Meanwhile, new concerns are already emerging, as the possibility grows that changing climate conditions will bring locust swarms from Pakistan, Myanmar or Kazakhstan into China, via Tibet. China’s National Forestry Administration said the risk of locusts entering the country was low, but if they were to hit, the giant country would have to deal with limited knowledge and a lack of tools and techniques to track the locusts’ migration patterns. Authorities in western China are now trying to prepare for the possible arrival of the hungry swarms, stockpiling pesticides and equipment and recruiting manpower for this purpose, while also dealing with the spread of the coronavirus .
Ranges and spread
The locust swarms, which migrate with the wind, can travel up to 150 kilometers in a day. The Food and Agriculture Organization has updated that there are several areas at high risk of locust swarms arriving. In the Horn of Africa, in the northeast of the continent, this is an unprecedented threat, as the swarms grow and advance towards northeastern Uganda and famine-stricken South Sudan . Some of the swarms have already laid eggs and hatching is almost in full swing. Additional migrations are taking place on both sides of the Red Sea: near the borders of Sudan, Egypt and Eritrea, on the coasts of Yemen, Oman and southern Saudi Arabia. In addition, locust swarms have also appeared in other areas in Asia – in Iran and on the border of India and Pakistan.
There is a fear that the locust attack will not end soon. The expected rains could provide conditions for another large swarm, which could increase the number of insects in the area by 500 times, to a level where there will be no way to stop their spread. “They will lay eggs and develop another generation,” he said. The fear is that if the outbreak is not contained soon, and breeding conditions remain optimal, it could spread to the territory of nearly thirty countries in Africa and Asia, and although there are currently no specific warnings, Israel could also eventually be in danger.
Current way of coping
Ethiopia and Kenya are now trying to fight the locusts by firing tear gas into the swarms and spraying insecticides from light aircraft. In Eritrea and Djibouti, teams of hundreds of people are chasing the swarms with hand-held pesticide pumps. More than two dozen swarms have been sprayed with pesticides, but many more have not yet been reached, and more swarms are arriving all the time from neighboring countries. Kenya needs additional spraying equipment in addition to the four spraying planes currently operating, and the four more planes operating in neighboring Ethiopia. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization has already announced that about $70 million is needed to step up aerial spraying, which is the only effective method of action against locust swarms, but so far the achievements have been meager.
The solution:
Over the past year, ALTA, in collaboration with professional officials from the Ministry of Agriculture and Muller Professional Pest Control, developed a special and unprecedented method for dealing with locust swarms.
The findings show that during the day, locust swarms fly with the wind and are in constant motion, making them impossible to exterminate, but towards nightfall, the swarm prepares to settle down and when it finds a suitable place, it remains there for the entire night.
According to the method we developed, locust swarms are tracked during the day using drones with precise GPS positioning and location-sharing capabilities.
When the swarms find their place to rest for the night, their location and size are transferred in real time from the scout department to the spray department. Then during the night there is a long period of time when the swarm is not moving (a cold-blooded animal does not move at night). This is the time to deal a fatal blow to the swarm and destroy it.
The swarm can be controlled by airplanes or by dedicated drones, depending on the size of the swarm.
ALTA took an active part in the delegation that went to Ethiopia to assist in the implementation of the new coping method it developed.
Delegation composition: Dr. Yoav Motro – Delegation leader..’Tamir Ashwell – Head of the Ministry of Agriculture’s Directorate’ Yoav Muller – Professional Pest Control’ Tomer Regev – ALTA UAV-based precision agriculture/
As part of the delegation, the locals received equipment worth hundreds of thousands of shekels, including drones and advanced spraying equipment. In addition, the locals received close training on operating the drone and how to deter locust swarms.
The delegation departed in November 2020 for 16 days. 40 drone pilots were trained in the aviation department. 4 local instructors were trained to train additional trainees.
ALTA is proud to participate in a valuable and life-saving cross-continental project, and will remain in constant contact with the destination country to support and assist as much as possible.