A swarming grasshopper (Locusta migratoria) found across Africa, Asia, Australia and parts of Europe, second only to the Desert Locust in the scale of the damage its swarms cause to cereal crops, pasture and other vegetation. Like the Desert Locust it shifts from a solitary to a gregarious phase under crowding, and its several regional subspecies have driven major outbreaks in China, where locust plagues have been recorded and combated since antiquity, and more recently in Madagascar and parts of Southeast Asia.
Facts
Connections
Associated With
Rice, Crops Migratory locust swarms have historically devastated rice paddies across East and Southeast Asia.
Sources
1. Migratory Locust (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationOpening definition paragraph
The migratory locust is the most widespread locust species, and the only species in the genus Locusta. It occurs throughout Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Because of the vast geographic area it occupies, which comprises many different ecological zones, numerous subspecies have been described. However, not all experts agree on the validity of some of these subspecies. While it reaches plague proportions in drier areas, it is solitary in northern Australia savannas.
lead description
A swarming grasshopper (Locusta migratoria) found across Africa, Asia, Australia and parts of Europe, second only to the Desert Locust in the scale of the damage its swarms cause to cereal crops, pasture and other vegetation.
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