After years of drought, Australia’s harvest faces a different threat
As farmers prepare to harvest their crops, large swarms of locusts plague Australia
Vast swarms, some measuring up to seven km long, have been observed at Condobolin, Gundagai, Narrandera and Wagga Wagga.
The NSW State Government has reportedly dispatched pesticides to farmers to spray about 100,000 hectares of locust bands and has a fleet of nine crop spraying aircraft on standby-the only way they know how to fight the locusts!
Desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria. Male (on top) and female. Credit: Christiaan Kooyman
Locust is the swarming phase of short-horned grasshoppers of the family Acrididae, some of which reached 15 cm in length. These species can breed rapidly under suitable conditions and subsequently become gregarious and migratory. They form bands as nymphs and swarms as adults — both of which can travel great distances, rapidly stripping fields and greatly damaging crops. [Wikipedia]
Related Links:
Related News and Video Links:
Fire Earth 