
“Unprecedented” locust invasion threatens crops in East Africa - LinuxBender
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/unprecedented-locust-invasion-approaches-full-blown-crisis/
======
pintxo
If anyone wonders what happens if a proper airplane tries to fly through a
swarm of locust:
[http://avherald.com/h?article=4d1de8cc&opt=0](http://avherald.com/h?article=4d1de8cc&opt=0)

> The windscreen wipers were not able to clear the windshield anymore. The
> crew went around, climbed to 8500 feet, depressurized the aircraft, opened
> the cockpit side window and cleaned the windscreen by hand. The same
> happened on second approach to Dire Dawa. The crew again climbed to 8500
> feet, cleaned the windscreen by hand again and diverted to Addis Ababa.

~~~
mhandley
HN discussion is here:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22073796](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22073796)

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designium
"Locusts are the swarming phase of certain species of short-horned
grasshoppers in the family Acrididae. These insects are usually solitary, but
under certain circumstances become more abundant and change their behaviour
and habits, becoming gregarious"
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locust](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locust)

So, in normal circumstances, grasshoppers are benign but under certain
conditions, they can form swarms.

~~~
Zenst
Yes, been studied and shown it is overcrowding that causes this and you can by
rubing the back legs of a grasshopper for about 30 mins(iirc maybe shooter
time) and it will start to develop wings and change.

The rubbing of back legs in nature happens when you have high dense
populations - overcrowding due to rushing for limited food in an area. Which
evolving wings and flying elsewhere would be nature at play.

Real trick would be to curtail grasshopper numbers before they swarm and
perhaps a more balanced approach to grasshoppers natural enemies and
encouraging habits for those will do well. Chemicals for me are a desperate
solution to a problem that got overlooked. Much the same way that ant do
wonders with many pests for plants, yet production methods end up curtailing
environments that see them thrive in area's that would benefit. So we end up
with chemicals for things like aphids when ants will eat them all up for you.

~~~
ipsum2
> you can by rubing the back legs of a grasshopper for about 30 mins(iirc
> maybe shooter time) and it will start to develop wings and change.

If true, this seems very effective for economic terrorism. I wonder why thats
not more common.

~~~
baroomba
A production rate of 32 locusts per person per 16-hour workday isn't enough to
matter unless you have a small army of people rubbing grasshopper legs
together all day, I'd think. Though it is a pretty funny image.

~~~
grogenaut
Most humans have two hands so you're off by at least a factor of 2.

~~~
oddsockmachine
If you implement "middle out" grasshopper rubbing, you can triple production

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wbillingsley
The Indian Ocean Dipole event did nobody much good. It's been attributed for
the very low rainfall (and bushfires) across Australia in 2019 as well as the
higher than usual rainfall (and locusts) in east Africa.

Also an impressive feat of weather modelling, however. This is from May 2019,
apparently before the strong IOD event had fully formed, and before the
bushfire crisis hit. [https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-05-16/positive-indian-
ocean...](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-05-16/positive-indian-ocean-dipole-
bad-news-for-drought-crippled-areas/11120566)

This is from last month and shows what happened with it
[https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-11/indian-ocean-
dipole-v...](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-11/indian-ocean-dipole-
values-graph/11788386) And they were right about the effects on rainfall while
it was in place.

~~~
Gravityloss
Thank you. Some scientific background, instead of just event reporting.

------
dougmwne
There're some entertaining control measures being suggested in the comments.
To my knowledge, the best control measure is pesticide application programs
that use modeling to suggest optimal treatment locations. If you can develop a
better locust population model, FAO would likely be interested.

~~~
cosmodisk
I think genetic modifications could help but it's probably a long shot.

~~~
pnako
Locusts are a solved problem in most parts of the world. Insecticides do work.
I understand that this is HN and people are interested in drones, lasers,
genetic engineering, etc. but in cases like this it's better to use proven
solutions rather than experiment.

~~~
coribuci
We only need a way to move Glyphosat from Western Europe to Africa.

------
henrygrew
scenes from the local villages,

[https://kenyanlist.net/index.php?threads/how-to-chase-
locust...](https://kenyanlist.net/index.php?threads/how-to-chase-locusts-in-
kitui.1980/)

~~~
felipemnoa
A giant net and you could at least eat them after they feast on your crops:

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locust#As_food](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locust#As_food)

There is no more ferocious predator than humans. If they became a delicacy all
over the world they wouldn't stand a chance in hell.

According to the wikipedia article: "Locusts yield about five times more
edible protein per unit of fodder than cattle, and produce lower levels of
greenhouse gases in the process."

~~~
henrygrew
Yeah, a good source of protein, with the huge numbers a challenge would be
drying and storage

~~~
londons_explore
You probably already have equipment to dry and store the grain.

Reuse of the same equipment to dry the insects might be doable.

~~~
WaitWaitWha
And... you have Wuhan v2...

------
molteanu
There was also pictorial from The Guardian a few days ago, "Billions of
locusts swarm through Kenya"[1] regarding this.

[https://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2020/jan/24/billio...](https://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2020/jan/24/billions-
of-locusts-swarm-through-kenya-in-pictures)

~~~
zentiggr
That's unbelieveable... I can't imagine that there's any real way to control
swarms that large, and the idea of burning the entire country clean to starve
them out seems a bit counterproductive.

~~~
mc32
Aside from pesticides, nets. Some places where bugs eat produce if not
protected have nets covering and enclosing the whole farm.

~~~
Pfhreak
If the swarm is 960 square miles, and travels quickly, how much netting do you
need?

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jbotz
"The swarms increase in size twentyfold with each successive generation and
could reach _India_ by June."

India? Am I missing something or is this is an error in the text?

~~~
baybal2
There was a horrendous locust swarms few months ago in Punjab already before
the winter.

The same megaswarm was in Saudi Arabia a year ago.

It seems that the swarm has since split, with one swarm going back to Africa

~~~
celim307
Getting real 40k Tyranid vibes

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Eric_WVGG
> The U.S. Agency for International Development says it released $800,000 to
> support FAO’s response in eastern Africa.

That's enough to send a couple diplomats down there to give the locals the
middle finger, not including airfare.

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henrygrew
The kenyan government is unprepared to handle this incident despite earlier
warnings, the local minister cited a lack of an effective chemical in the
local market, adding that the fight against the insect has been slowed down by
the long procurement and import bureaucracies.

[https://kenyanlist.net/index.php?threads/munya-says-that-
the...](https://kenyanlist.net/index.php?threads/munya-says-that-the-state-
needs-atleast-six-months-to-eradicate-locusts.2080/)

------
plopz
When the article says its the worst in 25 years, does that mean the historical
record only goes back 25 years or that a worse invasion happened in 1995? From
what I can see Wikipedia has an article for an infestation in 2004 and
mentions 1989 as a previously notably bad situation in western Africa.

~~~
dredmorbius
Considerably more than 25 years.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plagues_of_Egypt#8._Locusts:_E...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plagues_of_Egypt#8._Locusts:_Ex._10:1–20)

More recently, the UN FAO tracks outbreaks.

[https://www.worldcat.org/title/desert-locust-project-
final-r...](https://www.worldcat.org/title/desert-locust-project-final-report-
on-the-united-nations-development-program-desert-locust-project/oclc/30276478)

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scythe
So my guess for deterring these pests would be a setup with high-intensity
mid-ultraviolet LEDs (200-300 nm) pointed upwards, which should render large
proportions of the exposed population sterile if not dead (sterile might be
better than dead if it inhibits effective mating). 300 nm is about the limit
for ionizing DNA. Humans can be advised to avoid the lamps.

~~~
mkl
The inverse square law being what it is, I think the power requirements alone
of such a solution would render it impossible, and the LEDs would need to be
insanely high intensity (I doubt they actually exist).

------
Zenst
Given Locusts have an exoskeleton, would some kinds of focused sound weapon
have a viable use in bringing down such swarms?

~~~
oneplane
Imagine the source of protein you'd get! While probably not super handy (as it
only happens during swarming times) and maybe even ecosystem-disruptive,
turning them in to food would be useful.

~~~
Zenst
Wouldn't look at this as a farming avenue, more a way to respond to such
scaled issues using tools that may very well already exist or be modified to
cater for such needs.

Certainly aware of crowd control sound weapons, I'd be supprised if the
militaries of the world didn't have there own more powerful flavours begging
for a PR test opportunity like this.

~~~
oneplane
Now I wonder if there is a single resonant frequency that would work on all of
them. The individual differences alone would be hard. Perhaps a general
microwave type of weapon/harvester would work better?

~~~
zentiggr
Wow, we're approaching "Mars Attacks!" territory here. That could be a viable
tactic though

~~~
sitkack
Phased array microwave beams could cause enough instantaneous local heating to
kill them, could optical detection to steer the beam.

~~~
AnimalMuppet
And, if you keep a history of where the beam went, you know where go to to
harvest the carcasses for protein.

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Aperocky
So much protein flying through air.. If only we have a way to capture them and
turn into bars.

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dredmorbius
The swarms follow the wind, seek food, and signal necessary movement with
pheromones.

Seems curbing food downwind (tillage, fire?), prompting movement, and starving
the swarm, might be a control method.

Something like how wildfire is controlled.

~~~
Wicher
Synthesize the pheromones, carpet spray them, and they'll keep moving non-stop
until they die of exhaustion!

(Might have to do some due diligence eco-research to check, for instance, if
the synthetic pheromone is specific enough)

~~~
dredmorbius
Something like that. Or maneuver them into a narrow valley or canyon or to a
too-long water crossing (shades of lemmings).

Or use the Mormon defence: seagulls.

------
sitkack
Use drones with nets to catch them and turn them into food.

~~~
zackmorris
On that note, grasshoppers were a primary staple for many Native American
tribes:

[http://www.native-languages.org/legends-grasshopper.htm](http://www.native-
languages.org/legends-grasshopper.htm)

[http://www.hollowtop.com/finl_html/amerindians.htm](http://www.hollowtop.com/finl_html/amerindians.htm)

I'm having trouble finding articles, but basically they used to weave large
nets and string them along places where insects gathered. It was basically
land fishing.

I think people might be surprised to learn just how easy it was to thrive in
hunter-gatherer societies. Salmon and shellfish were effectively unlimited, so
if you knew which native plants to eat (like wild onions, carrots and
especially camas where I'm from), you could meet all of your daily
macronutrient and vitamin/mineral needs on 2 hours of work per day.

Edit: here's also a concise list of edible plants and herbs with their
effects:

[https://www.legendsofamerica.com/na-
herbs/9/](https://www.legendsofamerica.com/na-herbs/9/)

------
aszantu
Eat locusts instead of grain then xD they contain high amounts of protein and
water and taste like chicken when fried. Add lots of butter if you can

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dhymn
Maybe we should all take up eating locusts? Creating more demand may help
these farmers leverage this otherwise bad situation.

Anyone else up for a locust protein bar?

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LouisSayers
Couldn’t they do something like stick up big electrified nets at the crop
areas?

Locusts fly into them and get buzzed? Or something similar

~~~
ropiwqefjnpoa
Not sure where to being with this, but locust swarms like this are a force of
nature. Maybe you could save your backyard garden with nets or cover, _maybe_.
But not acres and acres of farmland.

~~~
coribuci
Monsanto would like to disagree.

~~~
mkl
What does Monsanto have to do with covering farmland with nets?

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m0llusk
We just need to find a way to eat them. Locust cakes could be a worldwide
smash and great source of protein.

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danschumann
Why don't people eat the locusts? I mean... good protein, right?

~~~
i1856511
Sure, would you like to be the first?

~~~
felipemnoa
Lots of people already do. Think of it as a shrimp on land.

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sansnomme
Will fuel-air incendiary work on insect swarms?

~~~
zentiggr
Probably as well as on all the vegetation and populace...

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Zenst
I wonder how drones would fair flying thru this, as on scale a locust in
relation to the engines upon a drone is large in relation of a bird to an
aeroplane engine.

~~~
simias
It seems a bit tone-deaf to worry about drones when this could trigger severe
food shortages.

~~~
Zenst
Thank you for asking that and my apologies for not initially providing a
context and by that poor omission opening up the very valid and fair
possibility that I was being callous and uncaring. Also thank you for taking
the time to raise that question instead of blindly judging and running with
the worst case presumption, thank you.

I was thinking along the lines of fishing them as a food resources and drones
with nets, but before I ran with that was wondering how well a drone would
cope with such swarms and not something that the net did not offerup as a
clear answer, either.

[EDIT ADD first paragraph ]

~~~
bryanrasmussen
I think something more like a kite rig
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kite_rig](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kite_rig),
but a net would be good. if they could be "thrown" up in the air quickly, have
a sort of sticky inside so locust would be caught better, as they filled the
net the net would become heavy and be brought down. The net should then be
easily detachable somehow, attach another, throw up into the swarm.

Swarm passes by, the kite netters have a couple tons of locusts netted, a good
harvest.

on edit: personally like because has such a 50s sci-fi feel to it.

~~~
sitkack
Big fabric rotors, like those used on old windmills or a VAWT could scoop them
out of the sky.

~~~
Zenst
I just had a dig into what altitude they fly at and 2,000 meter ceiling would
make things more complicated.

Hot air balloons dropping nets, or some weather balloons - again tethered.
Though would probably want to run with hydrogen for costs, just safety and
training go up, so greater initial costs there. So many details.

Kinda gets down to sky versions of submarine nets in predictable flight paths
into crop area's as being the best spots to set such trapping nets up.

Though if it turns out you just need to lay down football sized green carpet
and that attracts them - well that opens up other avenues in trapping or
indeed - zapping them once they touch down.

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shoo
obligatory locust economy link (2013)
[https://www.ribbonfarm.com/2013/04/03/the-locust-
economy/](https://www.ribbonfarm.com/2013/04/03/the-locust-economy/)

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nicharesuk
Return the slab, or suffer my curse.

------
markdown
Napalm needed.

