Locust description. School atlas-identifier of insects

The locust is dangerous insect capable of destroying plants in the habitat. Outwardly, it resembles the famous grasshopper. Crickets look like her, because they belong to the Orthoptera order. Her body size is larger, the floods are different.

The locust insect is the most dangerous pest of field, meadow, garden plants. Gathering in flocks numbering millions of individuals, they suddenly appear in a new place and leave behind a bare area. It is difficult to resist, the benefits of it are minimal, so you need to know how to fight.

Many people saw the locust, studied its description, looked at the photographs. She lives almost everywhere. These green jumping insects are easy to spot along the road, in a forest clearing, in a garden, north. They peacefully sit on leaves, chirp, do not benefit, but do not harm the economy.

The filly lives alone, without representing danger. As soon as the locust unites in flocks, it turns from a harmless individual into a formidable pest, whose voracity is immeasurable. Their droppings, which remain after the invasion of leafworms, are also considered toxic.

Appearance

The body length of the locust is 3-7 cm. The females are slightly larger than the males. Body color is different. Easily adapt to the conditions of the habitat. They disguise themselves as the surrounding vegetation, so they are green, yellowish, brown, olive. The longer the lifespan, the darker the color of the locust. Quickly changes color when joining a pack.

The large head is connected to the body almost motionless. It seems that this is a single indivisible organ. Large eyes stand out on the head, long elastic antennae bristle. Each insect has two pairs of wings. The anterior ones are dense, have noticeable brownish-brown or black spots, the posterior ones are transparent, they have a green or yellowish tint.

The flying insect has powerful jaws. It gnaws and crushes thick stems, powerful leaves.
While in the larval stage, it crawls along the stems. Growing up, it starts to jump, then flies. Thanks to strong hind legs, it makes jumps. There are species of locusts that cannot fly as adults.

Habitat

Different types of locusts have adapted to life in certain regions. It appeared in Russia a long time ago, sometimes destroying entire fields. Most common in the southern regions.

It is found in Africa, has reached Europe, lives in the Sahara desert and the steppes of Kazakhstan. She is not afraid of the cold of Siberia, the humid climate of New Zealand. Warm steppes are more common habitats. Doesn't like the Arctic at all.

Nutrition

Locusts hide in flowers, among tall grass, under leaves. Here, an abundance of plant food is found for acridoids. Almost any part of the plant is used. Do not disdain small leaves, stems, young shoots. Flying insects daily eat green vegetation, the mass of which is approximately twice the weight of the body.

For life, one locust eats up to 350 - 500 g of feed. In some places, there are individuals that feed on poisonous plants, becoming potentially dangerous food for birds. In color, they differ from other species in the brightness of the color, warning of the presence of poison. They look very attractive, as the photo proves.

Uniting in hordes, they become dangerous. A swarm of locusts in search of food flies about 50 km a day. Small insects, slightly larger than a grasshopper, have a brutal appetite. They destroy vegetables, fruits, gnaw reeds, destroy fields of grain. After their invasion, everything disappears. Only stones, concrete, asphalt will survive.

Living in a flock, they can eat weak individuals. This way of eating is driven by a lack of protein in the diet. With a lack of nutrition, the number of pests decreases. Entire species disappear when diseases spread in a group.

Many are interested in where the green locust comes from in large quantities? The female is able to lay hundreds of eggs, which will produce many larvae. Its reproduction and residence are unusual, as are the stages of development of the locust, which is worth noting in the description.

The locust lives in two stages:

• herd;
• single.

When living alone, the green filly is inactive. She's practically harmless. In autumn, it lays eggs in a special depression in the soil. In winter, they are in the ground, and in spring young white individuals appear.

The filly larva needs food, so they begin to feed heavily. With rapid development, changes occur: they turn into adults, change color.

Anticipating a dry year, poor in food, changes occur in the reproduction of the female. The laid locust eggs are initially programmed to search for food in field conditions. Adult adults form flocks, larvae unite in numerous swarms.

Mating precedes the breeding stage. The male attracts females to his society by secreting a special hormone. As soon as the female approaches, he jumps on her back and clings tightly. A spermatophore is released at the base of the clutch. This is how locusts start breeding.

The insect goes through the mandatory stages of development. The female lays eggs
pre-preparing the capsules. There are up to 100 eggs in one capsule. In winter, they do not freeze out, because the insect envelops them for safety with a special foamy liquid. In the spring, a larva emerges from each egg laid. Its development continues intensively. A month later, an imago-like individual is formed that does not have wings. In a month and a half, the emerging larvae transform 5 times until they turn into adult locusts. During the summer months, three generations of young can be produced.

Locust species

It is difficult to list all varieties of locust. There are quite a few types. Since the insect multiplies rapidly, it periodically occupies new territories where there is enough food. Each type has its own characteristics.

An unusually voracious Moroccan locust, feeding from morning to evening. She has a distinctive cross on her back, her legs are red underneath and yellow at the top. Eggs are laid by females in capsules that they dig in unplowed fields.

In one cocoon up to 36 eggs. They unite when flying in huge flocks. From afar, such a horde moves like a black cloud. The length of the flock is up to 200 km. Instantly eat up the whole field, garden. They gnaw at the base of the stem, destroying plantations of cane, tobacco, cereals, and cotton. The Moroccan locust quickly develops mutations, so it is impossible to fight it. She is not afraid of insecticides.

Asian

The Asian locust has an unsightly, boring coloring. The color of the cover is from brown to greenish-yellow. Length up to 6 cm. Lives in Korea, Mongolia, Afghanistan, China, sometimes found in the Caucasus, in Europe. Able to fly, lives mainly in herds. Females lay about 1500 eggs. In the month of March, the larvae emerge from the eggs.

Young individuals of fillies have a black or yellow color, living in a flock - orange with black dots. Harm agriculture by eating cereals. Destroy fields of rye, soybeans, corn, barley, potatoes, alfalfa, rice, melons. They eat shrubs.

Desert

In Africa, Pakistan, India, the desert locust lives. There is little food in this place, so they eat everything that comes in their way. It is believed to be an unusually voracious variety of locust. Often make flights across the ocean to find food. Migrations are characteristic during the breeding season. The color is yellowish lemon.

Individuals living alone have a body color similar to the color of grass, sand. Black-brown spots are noticeable on the covers of the Desert Locust. Breeding times vary. They can produce up to four offspring per year. Not afraid of poisons.

Italian

The representative of the Italian locust is the Prus. According to the description, it resembles a gray grasshopper with wings painted slightly pinkish. It prefers living in Italy, but it is not known where they come from in Central Asia, the Caucasus, Altai.

Eats potatoes, sunflowers, gourds. He likes to destroy fields with cereals, legumes. A small insect (up to 4 cm in length) eats green mass twice its own weight.

Egyptian

There are rare insects. These include the large Egyptian locust living in the Sahara. Her body reaches a length of 8 cm. Local residents talk a lot about the benefits of the insect, who add dried insects to bread cakes.

There are many recipes where this insect is marinated, fried, cooked in sauce.
Knowing what a locust looks like, it is unlikely that anyone will confuse this harmful insect with a harmless grasshopper.

Locust is a rather large insect from the category of Orthoptera. For a long time, it has been the main threat to cultivated crops.

The description of the locust can be found in such ancient writings as the Bible, the works of the authors ancient egypt, Koran and so on.

Description of the insect

The body of the locust is elongated, the length can reach 20 centimeters. The "knees" of the hind legs are bent, their size is several times greater than the size of the middle and front paws.

There is a pair of rigid elytra, under which fragile wings with original patterns are located. When folded, they are quite difficult to see.

The antennae of the locust are somewhat shorter than, for example, those of crickets, and the head is larger, the eyes are larger. The insect makes a characteristic sound characteristic of males.

The surface of the thighs of males has small notches, and some thickenings can be seen on the thighs. During friction, these parts make a specific sound, which can be of any key.

Many believe that the color of the locust depends on its genotype. But actually it is not. The color of the insect has a direct relationship with the conditions environment.

Even individuals belonging to the same offspring, but living in different places, may differ in color.

Another factor that affects coloration is the phase of development. A younger individual is green in color, and an individual that has entered the gregarious phase acquires the traditional color.

Locusts have the ability to fly, they can travel up to 120 kilometers a day.

Difference between locust and grasshopper

The main difference between the grasshopper and the locust is that they belong to different families and suborders. In contrast to the locust, the grasshopper belongs to the suborder of long-whiskers.

The structure of the paws also differs. In locusts, they are shorter than in grasshoppers.

Despite their large size, locusts are herbivorous insects, while grasshoppers are predators.

Locusts are active during the daytime, while grasshoppers are active at night.

For agriculture, grasshoppers are harmless, and locusts often bring enormous harm and huge losses.

These insects also differ in the way they lay eggs. Locusts lay eggs in the soil, and grasshoppers use plant stems for their offspring or lay their eggs under the bark of trees.

Locust habitat

Locusts live on almost every continent, with the only exception being Antarctica. Many climatic zones are suitable for this insect.

Some species are characterized by living in grassy areas, others prefer to settle in close proximity to water, while others choose semi-deserts as their habitat.

Nutrition

Those individuals who live apart do not differ in voracity. In a lifetime, one locust is able to absorb up to 300 grams of plants. However, when she enters the pack, her behavior changes dramatically.

The locust invasion causes great harm, because, having met with its relatives, the insect becomes omnivorous and begins to absorb everything it sees: reeds, reeds, fruits, crops, and so on.

Long flights and lack of food force locusts to feed on their weaker relatives.

Development and reproduction

Locusts go through three stages of development during their life. 1. Egg; 2. Larva; 3. Adult. The hotter the climate, the more often mating occurs, and, consequently, reproduction.

In autumn, eggs are laid, which are in a special bag that protects against damage. One such bag can hide more than 100 eggs.

After laying, the parents usually die. All winter the eggs are in the soil and ripen.

With the onset of spring, the young locusts hatch, but they do not yet look like an adult, they lack wings.

It takes 40 days and several molts for the locust to move to the next stage.

In one flock there can be more than one billion individuals, and the area that the flock occupies reaches 1000 square kilometers. Such a number of insects is capable of making a sound similar to thunder.

Currently, there are a huge number of locust species, photos of which you can see below.

Locust photo

So, friends, let me tell you how easy it is to learn to distinguish between a grasshopper and a locust. After all, they can be exactly the same in color and size. In the pictures on the left there will be a representative of a grasshopper, and on the right a locust.
Grasshoppers have long whiskers, locusts have short ones. (the main visible difference) The female grasshopper has a saber at the end of the abdomen, the locust does not.

Grasshoppers have small eyes, locusts have large ones. In a grasshopper, the muzzle is pointed at the bottom with predatory jaws, in a locust it is more round and blunt. (By the way, a grasshopper can bite hard, until it bleeds, while it has a movable head and can twist it and bite painfully, as well as let burning saliva into the wound.
In a grasshopper, the body is short, designed for greater mobility when catching insects, in a locust, the body is elongated, it serves only to digest plant food and better aerodynamics during flight.

Today we have, one might say, a summer theme and its most beautiful chirping representatives of insects - grasshopper, cricket, locust pictures, photos, videos. Let's start with the well-known grasshopper. Although, I doubt that all of you know so well about him, most likely, reading the following lines, you will treat these beautiful serenades a little differently. But let's dispel, in order, the prevailing myths and legends around this representative of the Orthoptera order, the long-whiskered suborder.
The grasshopper lives on almost the entire territory of Russia, with the exception of deserts, highlands and regions of the far north. The most common species are green grasshopper, gray grasshopper, steppe grasshopper, tailed grasshopper and song grasshopper. So, we begin to slowly destroy the ideas - the grasshopper is a nocturnal insect, most often during the day it hides in secluded places, and with the onset of twilight it goes on a night hunt. The grasshopper is a predator, its hunting style is very similar to the praying mantis, the grasshopper also lies in wait for its prey and grabs a gaping insect with its strong front paws.

After that, with its powerful jaws, the grasshopper tears the victim and eats it. (by the way, a grasshopper can easily bite through human skin and believe me, the feeling of this is not the most pleasant)))) The grasshopper eats almost any insect that is inferior in size to it, and sometimes even larger representatives than itself. Often the grasshopper also catches its smaller counterparts; in choosing an object for a meal, it does not disdain anyone. If there is not enough animal food, the grasshopper can gradually switch to vegetation, eating bush buds, various cereals, but this is more an exception than a rule.

The grasshopper prefers to ambush, sitting on the branches or leaves of a shrub, low-growing branches of trees, except that in the meadows and in the steppe zone it lives in the grass. So, friends, when you are walking through a forest clearing and insects are quickly jumping in different directions from you, it is unlikely that this is a grasshopper, most likely these are representatives of locusts or fillies, our main character at that time is somewhere in a shelter peacefully dozing. The grasshopper is generally reluctant to jump, only in case of emergency, he usually prefers to crawl, and his hunting style is expectant, but not active at all.

Grasshopper male and female outwardly differ from each other, the female has an ovipositor at the end of the abdomen, a kind of saber, and males do not have this device. The grasshopper also has very long antennae, which, like antennas, help it pick up the slightest movement at night. The grasshopper has an incredibly beautiful and varied song, the sounds are made due to the vibration of the elytra, and each species of grasshopper has its own chirping melody, different from others.

The cricket is the closest relative of the grasshopper, among crickets there are two main species, real crickets that live in almost all climatic zones except in cold regions. Crickets live in burrows that they dig themselves, or they use ready-made natural shelters, crevices, shelters under stones or fallen trees for housing. The cricket is a territorial insect, each representative has its own area, which the cricket jealously guards.

The song of the cricket is intended for two purposes, firstly, to warn its fellows that the territory is occupied and guarded, and the second purpose of the trill of the cricket is to attract females to its area. Moreover, these songs are strikingly different from each other, the trill for calling females is produced at higher frequencies, and even for the human ear it is more pleasant and melodic. On the territory of a male cricket, there may be several females, a kind of harem, but often a neighboring cricket lures them with its more soulful song. By the way, only males sing, females do not have such talents. Outwardly, they are easy to distinguish; the female cricket has an elongated ovipositor at the end of the abdomen, similar to a saber, like a grasshopper.


To create a beautiful song, the cricket raises its hard flaps and rubs them against each other with great frequency, and from this action a magical song is obtained. The cricket feeds mainly on plant foods, but it also needs animal proteins, for this reason it sometimes catches small insects, and there are also frequent cases of cannibalism when the cricket eats its larvae or smaller representatives of the genus. By nature, the cricket is pugnacious, there are constant battles for territory between males, and in Asia they even arrange cricket fights. One female and two adult male crickets are put into the arena, and fierce battles take place between the males for the female.
An interesting feature in fights is that the cricket tries to bite off the antennae of its rival, and scientists have noticed that a cricket with a bitten off antennae loses its “authority” and becomes an outcast, a kind of military hierarchy. The field cricket is oily black in color, its shiny chitinous elytra are, as it were, covered with black varnish. And now let's get acquainted with the second common representative of this species, the brownie cricket. Outwardly, the house cricket differs from its field counterpart in its coloration, it Brown. Judging by the name, it becomes clear exactly where he lives.
V summer time the house cricket lives in the fields, meadows, in the forest, and comes to spend the winter in a person's dwelling. The house cricket is thermophilic and for this reason its favorite habitat in the hut has always been associated with the stove, where else can it be warmer? The cricket is a nocturnal insect, during the day it hides in its shelters, and at night it goes out to feed, bypasses its territory and, of course, performs magical songs to invite females and warn rival males. Since ancient times, it was customary in Russian huts to respect the cricket, because, as practice has shown, this beneficial insect. The male cricket lives alone, and since there was usually only one stove in the house, the cricket lived alone in the hut, not letting rivals on the threshold, and there were only a few females in the neighborhood.


During the day, the cricket hides, and at night it feeds on crumbs from the table or floor, leftover food, the cricket usually takes water from wet rags or drops of water, the cricket does not climb into plates and other utensils, because it does not know how to swim and can simply drown there. In addition, the cricket also needs a certain amount of animal food, and it perfectly regulates the number of cockroaches in the hut, periodically eating their younger generation.
Agree, it was just wonderful to have such a roommate in your hut. Unless not everyone likes the nightly trills of a cricket, although many get used to this nightly concert. By the way, the older the cricket, the more pleasant and melodic trills it produces, so to speak, its musical professionalism only grows with time.

Where do the huge hordes of locusts come from, which destroy all vegetation in their path and are a real disaster for people? A solitary locust (filly) in the presence of a sufficient amount of food leads a calm lifestyle and normal reproduction. But when a dry or lean year comes, there are not enough plants, the locust begins to actively multiply and lay the so-called "marching" clutches, from which larvae appear in large numbers in the near future. This locust develops according to somewhat different rules, marching offspring have more impressive dimensions up to 6 cm, long wings designed for flight and, most often, a brighter color.


The locust looks very similar to the grasshopper, and if you do not know some striking differences, it is quite difficult to distinguish them from each other. Locusts are divided into two types, solitary (filly) and gregarious. Locusts feed on plant foods, eating young grass, various cereals, which often causes great damage to agriculture. Single locusts are usually painted in masking protective colors, green, gray, brown. It has shorter wings and smaller sizes, the average length of a single locust is about 2-3 centimeters.
The locust is an excellent jumper, its hind legs are very powerful and allow it to perform long jumps, many times the length of its body. The front legs of the locust, unlike the grasshopper, are rather weak and serve only for support when moving. A single locust (filly) lives among the grass, where it feeds and sings its sonorous trills. Sounds are produced by rubbing the tubercles on the hind legs against the vein on the wing. By the way, the song of the locust is not as sonorous and beautiful as that of the grasshopper. Locusts are excellent food for many birds, lizards and other insectivorous animals.
Marching or migratory, gregarious locusts gather in huge hordes, and begin their movement in search of food, while eating all the vegetation around. The number of such a flock can exceed billions of individuals, which is the largest collection of animals of one species in the world. At the same time, the gregarious locust is very voracious and in a day it eats food as much as it weighs itself. Migratory locusts are excellent fliers and can cover a distance of several hundred kilometers. At the moment, people have not yet come up with effective methods to combat this scourge, and from time to time, the formed swarms of locusts devastate some areas of Africa, Asia, and America. In the southern regions of Russia, such centers of the spread of locusts may also arise, which has already happened more than once in history.

a collective name that refers to a range of orthopteran insects (Orthoptera) from various genera and species of the grasshopper family (Acridiodea); Prusik (Caloptenus italicus), which is sometimes also called K., also belongs here; these same insects are also called jumps, grasshoppers and horses, but the name K. is more common, and representatives of the Locustodea family are more often called grasshoppers and jumps. For a description of K. and their way of life, see Prusik. In addition, under the name K., some more proboscis insects (Rhynchota) are known, belonging to the genus Cicada and also called cicadas (see).

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Locusts, locusts are several species of insects of the true locust family, capable of forming large swarms (numbering up to hundreds of millions of individuals), migrating over considerable distances. A feature of locust biology is the presence of two phases - solitary and gregarious, differing in morphology and behavior.

Locusts in the distant past were the number one enemy of mankind, but modern people heard little about her. Meanwhile, it is described in the ancient Egyptian papyri, the Bible, the Koran, the writings of the Middle Ages, fiction XIX century. It's time to learn more about the insect, whose name in the past centuries served as the personification of a humanitarian catastrophe.

Habitat

Different types of locusts have adapted to life in certain regions. It appeared in Russia a long time ago, sometimes destroying entire fields. Most common in the southern regions.

It is found in Africa, has reached Europe, lives in the Sahara desert and the steppes of Kazakhstan. She is not afraid of the cold of Siberia, the humid climate of New Zealand. Warm steppes are more common habitats. Doesn't like the Arctic at all.

Description

Locust sizes vary from 3 to 7 cm. Females are larger than males. The body is oblong, rigid elytra and a pair of translucent wings are attached to it, which remain invisible when folded.

The color is very variable and depends on the age, conditions and lifestyle that the locust leads:

• Even individuals hatched from the same oviposition may differ in coloration.
• What a locust looks like is also predetermined by the phase of its development.
• In the European strip, single individuals are predominantly yellow, brick, green, olive, brown in color, which helps to mask against the background of surrounding vegetation.
• The older the individual, the darker its color becomes.
• If the locust has joined the swarm, it acquires the same color scheme as that of the other members of the team.

The large head is not particularly mobile. Large crescent-shaped eyes and a rectangular, almost square muzzle of the locust give the insect a good-natured look. The gnawing mouth apparatus is represented by powerful jaws that help to gnaw through even the thickest and most durable stems. With the upper mandibles, the insect gnaws the leaves, and only then crushes them through the lower mandibles.

A distinctive feature of the locust from its closest relatives: crickets and grasshoppers - short whiskers, their length does not exceed half the calf.

The pinkish hind legs are well developed, which allows the locust to jump at a distance of 20 times its length. It is no coincidence that insects are endowed with jumping abilities. In the larval stage, they still do not know how to fly and their motor capabilities are limited to crawling and jumping. Some species do not have flight activity even in adulthood.

How long a locust lives depends on environmental conditions. Rainy seasons provoke the development of fungal diseases of plants, which leads to infection of the insect and its death. natural enemies: wild wasps, beetles, birds can also shorten lifespan. Man also contributes by destroying pests. If the locust is in optimal conditions and has not become a victim of anyone, then it can live from 8 months to 2 years, depending on the species.

All species of locusts emit a characteristic "chirring". This peculiar “singing” of insects in many people evokes the image of a flowering meadow on a hot summer day. The sound apparatus of acridoids is located on the femurs of the hind legs and elytra. Along inner surface the femora are tubercles, and one of the veins of the elytron is thicker than the others. Locusts make sounds by rapidly moving the thigh, while the tubercles touch the vein. Because the tubercles are uneven, the result is a staccato chirping sound. In most locust species, both males and females chirp.

What do locusts eat?

Locusts usually live on leaves and flowers. green plants. They gnaw leaves with strong upper mandibles, and grind them with smaller and weaker lower mandibles.

Since the mandibles of the locust move from side to side, the insects usually sit in the center of the leaf, on its longitudinal axis, and gnaw the leaf from edge to edge. Only a few true locust species feed exclusively on grass. The food for most locust species is the leaves of perennial plants, shrubs and trees. Some locust species can even feed on poisonous plants that other insects and animals do not eat.

Concentrating in their body, the poison provides insects with protection from enemies, since they themselves become poisonous. Such locusts have bright coloring, which warns of their inedibility.

Life cycle and reproduction

Many are interested in where the green locust comes from in large quantities? The female is able to lay hundreds of eggs, which will produce many larvae. Its reproduction and residence are unusual, as are the stages of development of the locust, which is worth noting in the description.

When living alone, the green filly is inactive. She's practically harmless. In autumn, it lays eggs in a special depression in the soil. In winter, they are in the ground, and in spring young white individuals appear.

The filly larva needs food, so they begin to feed heavily. With rapid development, changes occur: they turn into adults, change color.

Anticipating a dry year, poor in food, changes occur in the reproduction of the female. The laid locust eggs are initially programmed to search for food in field conditions. Adult adults form flocks, larvae unite in numerous swarms.

Mating precedes the breeding stage. The male attracts females to his society by secreting a special hormone. As soon as the female approaches, he jumps on her back and clings tightly. A spermatophore is released at the base of the clutch. This is how locusts start breeding.

The insect goes through the mandatory stages of development. The female lays eggs, pre-preparing egg capsules. There are up to 100 eggs in one capsule. In winter, they do not freeze out, because the insect envelops them for safety with a special foamy liquid. In the spring, a larva emerges from each egg laid. Its development continues intensively. A month later, an imago-like individual is formed that does not have wings. In a month and a half, the emerging larvae transform 5 times until they turn into adult locusts. During the summer months, three generations of young can be produced.

The benefits and harms of locusts

The greatest damage is delivered by hordes of locusts that destroy fields and plantings. However, the average layman, who does not care about the safety of the crop, is more interested in the answer to the question of whether the locust bites. The insect eats exclusively plant food and it does not bite a person, unlike its fellow grasshopper.

An equally burning question is whether locusts are eaten. Orthoptera insects are the most consumed after ants. In African countries, it is fried, mixed into cakes. Arab women a few centuries ago could cook 2 dozen locust dishes. Culinary recipes have lost their relevance due to the lack of ingredients.

In California, during the locust invasions, whole feasts were held. The captured insects were soaked in marinade, then crushed and soups were prepared. The Japanese are marinated in soy sauce and fried. In a word, there are many recipes for cooking locusts, but not everyone can appreciate its taste, not so much because of inaccessibility, but because of disgust.

pest control

Agrotechnical measures

As a preventive measure against locusts (in those areas where there is a high probability of a massive invasion of harmful insects), it is necessary to carry out thorough and deep tillage (plowing) of the soil, which destroys egg capsules.

Chemical methods of struggle

It is possible to effectively protect plantings in the face of unprecedented voracity and mass character of locusts only with the use of chemical methods plant protection.

With a mass concentration of locust larvae in one area, apply pesticides with a validity period of at least thirty days. For dressing and destroying insects, drugs such as Karate, Confidor, Image are taken, but it is possible to effectively use poisons to combat the Colorado potato beetle.

A good result is shown by the systemic drug Clotiamet VDG, which provides reliable protection from locusts for three weeks. This poison is good in that it can be effectively used in a tank mix with other micronutrient fertilizers, plant protection products and plant growth stimulants, but it is necessary to first test for compatibility with other chemicals.

Effectively destroy locusts (both larvae and adult insects) such preparations as "Gladiator" and "Damilin". The insecticide "Damilin" has a negative effect on the larvae, slowing down their development and disrupting the formation of the chitinous shell of the body, as a result of which the insects die. A big plus of the drug is its low toxicity.

1. The first chronicle mention of the invasion of locusts in Russia refers to 1008, the result of which was a famine. The invasion was repeated in 1094, 1095, 1103 and 1195. Similar misfortunes were repeated in the XVI-XVII centuries. In 1824, the locust invasion was observed in the south of modern Ukraine, in the Kherson, Yekaterinoslav and Tauride provinces, and A. S. Pushkin was seconded to fight it. He wrote a short report:

1. The largest locust infestation in human history occurred in the United States in 1875. A swarm of locusts from the state of Texas spread westward, but after some time, having made tremendous devastation, disappeared as suddenly as it appeared.
2. Currently, vast areas of crops across the Earth are suffering from locust infestations, especially in Africa.
3. Locusts are found almost everywhere except in the coldest regions.
4. The body length of the locust ranges from 1 cm in the meadow locust to 6 cm in the migratory locust. The largest individuals can reach 20 cm in length.
5. Locusts differ from grasshoppers and crickets in the length of their antennae: they are shorter.
6. Every day, one individual of the locust eats an amount of plant food equal to its own weight.
7. There are swarms of locusts, numbering several billion individuals. They form "flying clouds" or "clouds", the area of ​​which can reach 1000 km2.
8. When the wings of the locust rub against each other, a characteristic squeaky sound is heard. The noise made in flight by a flock of several million insects can be mistaken for thunder.
9. Sound extraction in locusts is carried out by rubbing the hind leg with special tubercles against the elytra.
10. Locusts live from 8 months to 2 years.

Locust species

Moroccan locust

Insect small size, the length of the body rarely exceeds 2 cm. The color of adults is reddish-brown, with small dark spots scattered along the body and an unusual light-colored cruciform pattern on the back. The hindquarters are pink or yellow on the thighs and red on the lower legs. Despite their diminutive size, the Moroccan locust causes enormous damage to farmland and crops. cultivated plants, gathering in numerous hordes and destroying absolutely everything that grows on earth in its path. This species of locust lives in Africa, in Central Asia and Algeria, in sultry Egypt, in arid Libya and in Morocco. It is found in European countries, for example, in France, Portugal, Spain, Italy and even the Balkans.

Migratory (Asian) Locust

Quite a large insect: the body length of sexually mature males is from 3.5 to 5 cm, in females it ranges from 4-6 cm. The color of the Asian locust varies in several color solutions: there are individuals of bright green, brownish, yellow-green or gray color. The wings are almost colorless, except for a slightly pronounced smoky shade and the thinnest streaks of black. The hind thighs are dark brown or blue-black, the lower legs may be beige, reddish or yellow. The habitat of this species of locust covers the entire territory of Europe, Asia Minor and Central Asia, the countries of North Africa, the regions of North China and Korea. Also, the Asian locust lives in the south of Russia, is found in the Caucasus, in the highlands of Kazakhstan, in the south of Western Siberia.

desert locust

An insect with a fairly large size - females reach a size of 8 cm, males are slightly smaller - 6 cm in length. The coloration of the Desert Locust is dirty yellow, the wings are brown, with many veins. The hind limbs are bright yellow. This species of locust prefers to live in the tropics and subtropics: it is found in North Africa, on the Arabian Peninsula, on the territory of Hindustan and the border regions of the Sahara.

Italian Locust or Italian Prus

The body of an adult locust of this species is medium in size: in males, the body length varies from 1.4 to 2.8 cm, females can reach 4 cm in length. The wings are powerful, strongly developed, with rare veins. The colors of individuals are multifaceted: brick red, brown, brown, sometimes pale pink tones predominate in color. Often, light longitudinal stripes and whitish spots are expressed on the main background. The hindwings and femurs of the hind limbs are pinkish, the tibiae are red or whitish, with transverse stripes of black or dark brown. The habitat of the Italian locust covers almost the entire Mediterranean zone and a significant part of Western Asia. The Italian Prussian lives in central Europe and in Western Siberia, lives in Altai, Iran and Afghanistan.

rainbow locust

A species of locust that lives on the territory of the island of Madagascar. Incredibly bright in color and very poisonous, the rainbow locust reaches a size of 7 cm. The entire body of the insect shimmers with the most different colors- from bright yellow to purple, blue and red, and saturated with toxins. They are produced due to the fact that the locust feeds exclusively on poisonous plants. Usually, large populations of this species of locust are found in the foliage of trees or in thickets of milkweed, the juice of which is a favorite delicacy of the rainbow locust.

Siberian filly

Insect brown-brown, olive or gray-green. The size of an adult female does not exceed 2.5 cm, males are rarely larger than 2.3 cm. The habitat is very wide: the Siberian filly lives in the highlands of Central Asia and the Caucasus, is found in Mongolia and northeast China, northern regions of Russia, in particular, in Siberia and in the north of Kazakhstan. The insect causes large-scale damage to crops of grain crops, pastures and haylands.

Egyptian filly

One of the largest locust species found in Europe. Females grow up to 6.5-7 cm in length, the sizes of males are somewhat more modest - 30-55 mm. The color of the insect can be gray, light brown or greenish-olive. Lower legs of the hind limbs of blue color, and the thighs are bright orange, with distinctive black markings. On the eyes of the Egyptian filly there are always pronounced black and white stripes. This species of locust lives in the Middle East, in European countries, in North Africa.

blue-winged filly

Medium-sized locusts: the length of an adult female is 2.2-2.8 cm, the male is slightly smaller - 1.5-2.1 cm in length. The filly's wings are very spectacular - bright blue at the base, becoming colorless towards the top. On the surface of graceful wings passes beautiful drawing, consisting of the thinnest radial stripes of black color. The lower legs of the hind limbs are bluish in color, covered with light spines. The blue-winged filly is widespread in the steppe and forest-steppe regions of Eurasia, lives in the Caucasus and Central Asia, is found in Western Siberia and China.