republished due to requests from followers.
There are those who say that we have a plague of locusts in our midst. They feel that our border protection agencies and bio security agencies are unable to control this plague. Because there is some difficulty defining whether or not this particular locust is a swarming locust or just a misunderstood grasshopper.
According to the Government website for Agriculture,
“ Exotic pests, diseases and weeds can hitch a ride to Australia with vessels, shipping containers and break-bulk cargo. If they establish here they can wipe out entire food crops, harm our animals and damage our beautiful environment. Some pests could even change our way of life forever.”
When I first learned of this " conspiracy theory " I did some fact checking.
The Australian Government website tells us that
“ Locusts ……… are insects that can be serious pests of agriculture due to their ability to form dense and highly mobile swarms. They are species of short-horned grasshoppers that periodically form large populations in dense migrating groups, where individuals differ in several characteristics from those living separately. “
So it seems that the swarming locust is the one that we should fear the most.
Those that do not form part of a swarm are easily able to blend in with our existing eco system, but those that swarm are very dangerous. Very dangerous indeed.
National Geographic says
" The desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria) is notorious. Found in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, they inhabit some 60 countries and can cover one-fifth of Earth's land surface. Desert locust plagues may threaten the economic livelihood of one-tenth of the world's humans. A desert locust swarm can be 460 square miles in size and pack between 40 and 80 million locusts into less than half a square mile. Each locust can eat its weight in plants each day, so a swarm of such size would eat 423 million pounds of plants every day.
Distance Travelled
Like the individual animals within them, locust swarms are typically in motion and can cover vast distances. In 1954, a swarm flew from northwest Africa to Great Britain. In 1988, another made the lengthy trek from West Africa to the Caribbean. “
I can fully understand why a swarming locust population can be devastating to the Nation. I once saw a locust plague out west. It was as though the landscape was changing before my eyes. As the swarm descended, the trees, grass, crops and everything within my line of sight was being devoured. Imagine a time lapse camera that was put on fast forward and you will get the idea. The insect screens, doors and windows to my home were covered in a blanket of moving and seething hunger. It was frightening to behold. As I tried to plug the gaps under the doors, in the screens and cover everything with towels and sheets, I felt as though I was fighting a losing battle. The sheer force of numbers was too much to defeat.
The only thing that saved us was that they eventually eat everything… and move on to fresh fields.
When the plague departed, nothing remained. Not a blade of grass, a vegetable, a leaf on a tree. Nothing.
It is only when the swarm runs out of fuel ; once it devours everything, that it will starve and die a group death.
But sadly, by the time that happens, it has eaten everything.
Those that believe that this particular locust is swarming are alarmed. They fear that by the time it does swarm, it will be too late and that our Nation, as we know it, will be destroyed.
Perhaps it is time to exercise commonsense and err on the side of caution?
Maybe we need to tighten up the loopholes in our legislation and start acting against this potential plague before it is too late?
Or should I put my tin foil hat on and have a nice cup of tea… before the locusts eat the tea bush?
