The desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria) is a species of locust. Plagues of desert locusts have threatened agricultural production in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia for centuries. The livelihood of at least one-tenth of the world’s human population can be affected by this voracious insect. The desert locust is potentially the most dangerous of the locust pests because of the ability of swarms to fly rapidly across great distances. It has two to five generations per year. The last major desert locust upsurge in 2004–05 caused significant crop losses in West Africa and had a negative impact on food security in the region. While the desert locust alone is not responsible for famines, it can be an important contributing factor.
Read more about Desert Locust: Desert Locust Ecology, Locust Swarming, Crop Loss, Control, Biopesticides, 2003–2005 Desert Locust Upsurge, Desert Locusts in Culture, Locust Pheromone
Famous quotes containing the words desert and/or locust:
“For this is what America is all about. It is the uncrossed desert and the unclimbed ridge. It is the star that is not reached and the harvest that is sleeping in the unplowed ground.”
—Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908–1973)
“I heard the dog-day locust here, and afterward on the carries, a sound which I had associated only with more open, if not settled countries. The area for locusts must be small in the Maine Woods.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)