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LOCUST: A Threat to Nepalese Agriculture

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DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.28331.26407

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LOCUST: A THREAT TO NEPALESE
AGRICULTURE

DIPAK KHANAL
Assistant Professor
Paklihawa Campus, Bhairahawa
Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science
Tribhuvan University
dipakbabu@hotmail.com
By Dipak Khanal, ,Assistant
dipak.khanal@pakc.tu.edu.np
Professor, IAAS,
+9779857058357TU
 LOCUST-TYPES
 African Migratory Locust (Locusta migratoria
migratorioides) - Africa;
 Oriental Migratory Locust (Locusta migratoria
manilensis) - South-East Asia;
 Red Locust (Nomadacris septemfasciata)Eastern Africa;
 Brown Locust (Locustana pardalina) - Southern Africa;
 Moroccan Locust (Dociostaurus maroccanus)North-
West Africa to Asia;
 Bombay Locust (Nomadacris succincta)South-West to
South-East Asia;
 Australian Plague Locust (Chortoicetes terminifera) -
Australia;
 Tree Locusts (Anacridium sp.)Africa, Mediterranean,
Near East.
By Dipak Khanal, Assistant Professor, IAAS,
TU
 LOCUST
Latin (Vulgar Latin) word, ‘Locusta’ meaning grasshopper.
Larger grasshoppers which form swarm are called locusts (
Orthoptera: Acrididae):
Locusts differ from grasshoppers in that they have the ability to
change their behaviour and habits and can migrate over large
distances (Fao)
Following are the species of locust challenging South Asian
Region;
1. Desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria (Forskal)
2. Bombay locust, Pataga succincta Linnaeus
3. Migratory locust, Locusta migratoria (Linnaeus)

By Dipak Khanal, Assistant Professor, IAAS,

Schistocerca TU gregaria
 LOCUST-BIOLOGY
 Desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria (Forskal)
 A Desert Locust lives about three to five months,
 The life cycle comprises three stages: egg, hopper (nymph) and
adult
 Lays eggs in batch called pods, looks like rice grain, 80-
Gregarious, 90-160-Solitorious (normal condition, 16-20 viable
locust in one generation), females can lay at least three times
in their lifetime usually at intervals of about 6-11 days, Up to
1,000 egg pods have been found in one square metre.
 Eggs hatch in about two weeks (5-15 cm, in moist soil, there
should be at least 10-12 cm moisture, female first check soil
moisture), depending on temperature (the range is 10–65 days).
 15-35 °C-favourable temperature for eggs hatching.
 The hopper development period decreases with increasing daily
By Dipak Khanal, Assistant Professor, IAAS,
air temperature from 24°C toTU 32°C
 LOCUST-BIOLOGY
 They then pass through five instars (sometimes six in
the solitary phase), shedding a skin (molting) between
each.
 The hopper development period decreases with
increasing daily air temperature from 24°C to 32°C.
 When solitarious hoppers increase in number, their
behaviour changes, they become concentrated and
can form groups.
 Bands: As hoppers continue to concentrate, they
become more gregarious and the groups fuse to form
bands.
 measurements for predominantly fourth instar bands
range from about 200 m to 1 700 m in a day.
 The heading is often, but
By Dipak Khanal, not
Assistant always,
Professor, IAAS, downwind.
TU
 LOCUST -BIOLOGY
 Adult: After the final moult the new adult has soft wings
that must dry and harden before it can fly; this can take up
to 10 days.
 Once able to fly, solitarious adults migrate at night when the
temperature is above 20–22°C and the wind is less than 7
m/s
 Swarms: The first swarms form several kilometers
downwind from the main laying area and spend the night
roosting in vegetation.
 Swarms can occur as low-flying sheets (stratiform) or may
pile high in the air (cumuliform), with the top level as
much as 1 500 m above the ground
 Stratiform swarms are flat, usually tens of meters deep, and
often occur during cool, overcast weather or in the late
afternoon.
 Cumuliform swarms are associated with convective
updrafts on hotByafternoons, especially common during the
Dipak Khanal, Assistant Professor, IAAS,
warmer and drier months of TU the year.
 LOCUST
 Swarms: Swarms may fly up to nine or 10 hours in a day,
moving downwind, although mature swarms may
sometimes move a short distance upwind if the wind is
light.
 Swarms can travel about 5-130 km or more in a day.
 Locusts regularly cross the Red Sea, a distance of 300 km.
 West Africa to the Caribbean, a distance of 5,000 km in about
ten days in 1988.
 In the absence of wind, locusts fly at about 3–4 m/s
 Generally, average medium-density settled (resting on the
ground) swarm is about 50 million locusts/km2 (50
locusts/m2) across a range varying from 20 million km2 to
150 million/km2 (FAO).
By Dipak Khanal, Assistant Professor, IAAS,
TU
 LOCUST AND WEATHER
 Temperature 15-35 °C eggs, 24°C to 32°C Hoppers,
Adults: 20°C–22°C, swarm: 2–3 hours after sunrise, In
sunny conditions, they can take off in temperatures of at
least 15°C–17°C, Under cloudy conditions, take-off occurs
when temperatures reach 23°C–26°C.
 Wind: Normally downwind movement: Locusts generally
will not take off if winds are greater than 6–7 m/s
 Rainfall: eggs require moist soil for laying,
 Hopper: development from the first instar to fledging (the
final molt from the wingless fifth or sixth instar to winged
adult) indirectly requires rainy conditions, since the
hoppers require edible vegetation for survival.
 Swarm: start to mature when they arrive in an area that
received significant rains
By Dipak Khanal, recently
Assistant Professor, IAAS,
TU
 LOCUST
 Molting -five or six times, each time growing in size.

 Hoppers develop over a period of about 30-40 days; adults

mature in about three weeks to nine months but more
frequently from two to four months, depending on
environmental conditions, mainly temperature.

 An adult locust can eat its own body weight every day,
about 2.5 g ((per day.

 Solitary individuals always remain somewhere in the

desert, ready to mate when conditions are favorable.

By Dipak Khanal, Assistant Professor, IAAS,

TU
 LOCUST

By Dipak Khanal, Assistant Professor, IAAS,

TU Source: FAO
 LOCUST

Life cycle
Source:
By Dipak https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals
Khanal, Assistant Professor, IAAS,
TU
 LOCUST
 Affected area: During calm periods, Desert Locust infestations
are usually present somewhere within about 16 million km2 of
desert in about 30 countries between West Africa and India.

 During plagues, the number of countries and the size of the

potentially affected area doubles, representing about 20% of the
Earth’s land mass, spread over an enormous area of some 29
million square kilometres (extending over or into parts of 60
countries)

 If heavy rain falls in successive seasonal breeding areas, the

locusts will gregarize and, unless prevented by control, drought,
or migration to unsuitable habitats, plagues can develop.

 Rainfall over 25 mm in two consecutive months is usually

assumed to be enough for locust breeding and development.
By Dipak Khanal, Assistant Professor, IAAS, TU
 LOCUST
SOLITARY PHASE
Green
Solatorious in habit
Individuals repelled from others
Walk slowly with creeping
Diet restricted
Active mostly at night

Initially Pink-turns into

GREGARIOUS PHASE gray- finally yellow
Both nymphs and adults are gregarious
They are attracted to nonspecific
Diet broad
Active mostly at day
By Dipak Khanal, Assistant Professor, IAAS,
TU
 LOCUST
THIRD PHASE: PHASIS TRANSIENS
A third phase also occur during transition of the population
from one extreme phase to another called ‘PHASIS
TRANSIENS’.

Solitary to gregarious phase called ‘PHASIS CONGRIGENS’

Gregarious phase to solitary phase: ‘PHASIS DISSOCIANS’

These phase transition are called ‘SOLITARIZATION

AND GREGARIZATION’.

By Dipak Khanal, Assistant Professor, IAAS,

TU
 LOCUST
Under suitable conditions of drought followed by rapid
vegetation growth, serotonin in their brains triggers a dramatic
set of changes: they start to breed abundantly,
becoming gregarious and nomadic (loosely described
as migratory) when their populations become dense enough.

They form bands of wingless nymphs which later become

swarms of winged adults.

Physically, desert locusts can be stimulated into swarming,

gregarious behavior by stimulation of the hind legs as they crawl
over and jostle each other or by the combined sight and smell
of other locusts.

After enough of this "crowding," the locusts stop trying to

By Dipak Khanal, Assistant Professor, IAAS,
avoid each other and begin coming TU together in a swarm.
 LOCUST
When desert locusts meet, increased tactile stimulation of the
hind legs (stimulation of sensory hairs on the hind leg ) causes
an increase in levels of serotonin (their nervous systems release
serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, or 5-HT),which causes them to
become mutually attracted, a prerequisite for swarming).

The transformation of the locust to the swarming form is

induced by several contacts per minute over a four-hour period.

Increase level of serotonin causes the locust to change colour,

eat much more, and breed much more easily, swarming
behaviour is a response to overcrowding.

The initial bands of gregarious hoppers are known as

"outbreaks", and when these join together into larger groups, the
event is known as an "upsurge".

Continuing agglomerations of upsurges on a regional level

originating from a number of entirely separate breeding locations
By Dipak Khanal, Assistant Professor, IAAS,
are known as "plagues”. TU
 LOCUST-TRANSFORMATION
1
An unintentional gathering
Always in search of food, solitary
locusts are forced together during
dry spells, when vegetation dies
off and leaves minimal areas of
green within the desert.

By Dipak Khanal, Assistant Professor, IAAS,

SOURCE:TAYLOR MAGGIACOMO AND KAYA TU LEE BERNE, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC.COM
 LOCUST-BREEDING

4
Flying apocalypse
Although uncommon, a major plague
begins when swarms, often traveling
30 to 60 miles a day, develop over
multiple regions. Without intervention,
plagues can last years, until natural die- By Dipak Khanal, Assistant Professor, IAAS,
off occurs. TU
SOURCE:TAYLOR MAGGIACOMO AND KAYA LEE BERNE, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC.COM
 LOCUST-TRANSITION
Altered anatomy
The switch to the gregarious state
includes physical changes such as
a larger brain and shorter legs.

By Dipak Khanal, Assistant Professor, IAAS,

SOURCE: TAYLOR MAGGIACOMO AND KAYA TU LEE BERNE, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC.COM
 LOCUST-FEMUR

By Dipak Khanal, Assistant Professor, IAAS,

SOURCE: TAYLOR MAGGIACOMO AND KAYA TU LEE BERNE, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC.COM
 WHRRE SWARMS OCCUR

By Dipak Khanal, Assistant Professor, IAAS,

SOURCE: TAYLOR MAGGIACOMO AND KAYA TU LEE BERNE, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC.COM
 LOCUST AND HYOSCYAMINE
 HYOSCYAMINE (HSC), a toxic alkaloid found in some
plants native to the locusts' habitat.

Solitary locusts avoid plants containing HSC, but

gregarious locusts prefer them and seek them out.

In tests, solitary locusts avoided an odor associated with

HSC, whereas gregarious and newly crowded locusts
tended to approach it.

As a gregarious locust, it would need to seek out and eat

plants containing HSC

Gregarious locusts eat all available plants in their path, but

they preferentially eat plants with toxic compounds to
become unpalatable to predators.
By Dipak Khanal, Assistant Professor, IAAS,
TU
 LOCUST
 MIGRATION (2018-2020)

By Dipak Khanal, Assistant Professor, IAAS,

TU Source: Chinese News portal
LOCUST (BREEDING AREAS)

By Dipak Khanal, Assistant Professor, IAAS,

TU Source: FAO
LOCUST (GLOBAL FORECAST)

By Dipak Khanal, Assistant Professor, IAAS, Picture: FAO, Keith

TU Source: FAO
 LOCUST

By Dipak Khanal, Assistant Professor, IAAS, Picture: FAO, Keith

TU Source: FAO
LOCUST (STATUS)

By Dipak Khanal, Assistant Professor, IAAS, Picture: FAO, Keith

TU Source: FAO
 LOCUST
LOCUST BREEDING AREAS
South-west Asia: Rajasthan, Baluchinstan
Arabian Peninsula:Yemen,UAE,Pakistan,Saudi Arab
East-africa:Kenya,Ethiopia & Somalia, Sudan &West Arfica
West Africa: Kenya, Sudan Ethiopia

SWARMS SIZE
Locust swarms can vary from less than one square kilometre
to several hundred square kilometres.
There can be at least 40 million and sometimes as many as
80 million locust adults in each square kilometre of swarm
(FAO).
By Dipak Khanal, Assistant Professor, IAAS,
TU
 LOCUST
HISTORY (NEPAL)
According to Nepal Agriculture Research Council (NARC)

1930: First evidence: Swarm ( Remove greenery)

1962:Second time, [Group: ie. Splitted from swarm ]

Some specimens are preserved in Insect Museum of Entomology

Division, NARC, Khumaltar, Lalitpur

By Dipak Khanal, Assistant Professor, IAAS,

TU
 LOCUST
CHALLENGES TO NEPALESE AGRICULTURE
2.5 to 3-kilometre long swarm of locusts has entered in India
(Indian express, 1/6/2020)
With India battling the worst desert locust outbreak in three
decades, the insects have now damaged crops in five states —
Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and
Maharashtra — with the Centre issuing a warning to 12 states
(Hindustan Times, 1/6/2020)
17 districts in Utter Pradesh already infested with locust.
Displacement from Nepal: Kanpur (339 Km), Ethah (473 Km)
Aagra (554 km), Mathura (570 km)
Probability of wind movement from South to North or West to
East of Nepal (June onward) ??
Pre-monsoon and monsoon wind enter from Jhapa and
extended to western part of Nepal. (Generally June 15 onward)
Nepal-Not favorable place for locust breeding
By Dipak Khanal, Assistant Professor, IAAS,
TU
 LOCUST
MANAGEMENT
Where breeding is likely to occur;
When the next generation is likely to be flying;
Where and when that generation is likely to reach areas at
risk of invasion;
Effects of weather on logistics of survey and control
The moving of staff and materials, as well as ground and
aerial control operations against hoppers and swarms.

By Dipak Khanal, Assistant Professor, IAAS,

TU
 LOCUST
MANAGEMENT
Biological: Green Muscle (Metarhizium anisopliae var. acridum
based bio-pesticide, Popular in African Regions
Mass rearing of predatory Birds, duck and other vertebrate.
Mechanical: Collection and destruction using nets,
Flame thrower, laser and vacuum, giants nets,
Digging trench around field/farm
Making noise using various mechanical devices.
Human diet and animal feed (protein replacement, locust: 62%
protein, 17 % fat)
Follow FAO guideline for Locust Management
Follow Locust Watch/FAO
Chemicals: Malathion 96 % Ultral Low Volume (ULV),
Fenitrothion
Drone can be used to spray some chemical pesticides.
By Dipak Khanal, Assistant Professor, IAAS,
TU
 LOCUST
REFERENCES
Morgan, James . "Locust swarms 'high' on serotonin". BBC News. Archived from the
original on 10 October 2013. Retrieved 4 March 2014
Rogers, S. M.; Matheson, T.; Despland, E.; Dodgson, T.; Burrows, M.; Simpson, S. J.
(2003). "Mechanosensory-induced behavioral gregarization in the desert
locust Schistocerca gregaria". Journal of Experimental Biology. 206 (22): 3991–4002.
Showler, Allan T. (4 March 2013). "The Desert Locust in Africa and Western Asia:
Complexities of War, Politics, Perilous Terrain, and Development". Radcliffe's IPM
World Textbook. University of Minnesota.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/invertebrates/group/locusts/
http://www.fao.org/ag/locusts/common/ecg/1344/en/EMPRESbrochureE.pdf
http://www.fao.org/ag/locusts/oldsite/LOCFAQ.htm#q3 Retrived, 7/6/2020
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4024192/ Retrived, 7/6/2020
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/222427689_Food_choices_of_solitarious_a
nd_gregarious_locust_reflect_cryptic_and_aposematic_antipredator_strategies
Nepal Agriculture Research Council.Entomology Division. Insect Museum.
http://www.fao.org/ag/locusts/en/info/info/faq/index.html Retrived, 7/6/2020
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0003347204004099
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locust Retrived, 7/6/2020
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2020/02/how-to-set-off-a-plague of-
locusts-interactive/ Retrived, 6/9/2020
https://www.wired.com/2013/12/how-locusts-learn-to-be-part-of-a-swarm/
By Dipak Khanal, Assistant Professor, IAAS, Retrived,
6/9/2020 TU
 THANK YOU

By Dipak Khanal, Assistant Professor, IAAS,

TU
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