Our world is amazingly beautiful. It is rich in a variety of plants, animals, insects. Some individuals seem to have been created in order to give people aesthetic pleasure, to caress their eyes, to give joy from the realization of all the charm of some life forms. However, there is no day without night. There are beings in the world that not only have a frightening appearance, but also bring harm to a person through their life activities. The locust insect is a good example of such a creature. How dangerous are they?
Locust Insect Description
Locusts and the so-called filly together make up a single superfamily - locusts. This is the first largest group belonging to the order of Orthoptera. If you compare the locust with its closest relatives, grasshoppers, you will notice that she has a shorter tendril, her hearing organs have unusual characteristics, and the female has a shorter ovipositor. Most of the orthoptera insects are born “musicians” of the natural world. An exception is not the locust insect.
Where does this pest live? About six hundred species of locusts live in Russia, terrorizing most of the southern regions of the country. In the afternoon, her chirping drowns out the singing of grasshoppers, due to the large number of schools. The device, which allows locusts to publish a melody, is located on the hips of the hind legs, as well as on the elytra. On the inner part of the thigh is the order of the tubercles. The vein here is seriously thickened. Making an accelerated movement with the hip, the insect touches its tubercles, which leads to the occurrence of intermittent chirping. Locust hearing organs are located on the sides of the first abdominal segment. In some species, the lower wings are painted with bright colors. In case of danger, the locust abruptly takes off and scares off the enemy with a loud song and colorful coloring.
What does locust eat?
The locust insect, unlike relatives - grasshoppers, feeds exclusively on plants, without disdain and crops. This pest has a truly brutal appetite. He eats all the plants that fall in the way. If a locust flock gets to the fields where a person grows corn, grain and other crops, the region affected by the terror of the insect can suffer from hunger.
An adult locust eats vegetation per day equal in weight to its own body. Throughout life, it can destroy more than three hundred grams of green mass. The offspring left by one female locust during one summer eats the amount of food sufficient to feed two sheep. Flocks of the pest in a few hours can safely destroy more than one thousand hectares of crops.
Locust species
Harmful species of insect are usually divided into herd individuals and grasshoppers living alone. In the south of the Russian Federation, the locust migratory insect is especially common. Photos of this pest can be found in any biological encyclopedia. Locusts live very hidden. During mass reproduction, it groups the larvae into one large cluster, called the swarm. Sometimes its area is simply huge. If many larvae hatch in one area, they immediately begin to migrate. Otherwise, they remain in place and lead a sedentary, solitary lifestyle.
Swarms of locusts
In the fifties of the twentieth century in North Africa, in the city of Morocco, people noticed a huge flock of locusts, the length of which reached two hundred fifty kilometers, and a width of twenty. In previous centuries, there were cases when hordes of this insect reached Europe. Some flocks totaled forty billion individuals. They accumulate in the so-called flying clouds. Their area sometimes equals thousands of square kilometers.
The wings of an insect rub during flight - a creak is heard. When a cloud of millions of individuals flies by, the noise it produces is mistaken for thunder. Locust insect, accumulating in adult flocks, can overcome about a hundred kilometers a day. At the same time flying at a speed equal to fifteen kilometers per hour. In history, cases were recorded when small swarms of locusts traveled across the ocean, covering a distance of almost six thousand kilometers.
How do locusts breed?
The locust insect breeds with its shortened ovipositor. As a rule, the female of this pest lays eggs directly in the ground. It releases a liquid mass resembling glue. Organic matter freezes over time. Using it, the insect cements pieces of soil around future pests. A so-called capsule is formed - a strong cocoon for eggs with solid walls. If the "population density" of insects becomes too large, locusts gather in a flock and fly away from the habitat. So she “unloads” the field, which is no longer able to feed all the individuals living on it.