The Desert Locust

The desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria (Forskal) (Orthoptera: Acrididae) is considered to be the most dangerous of all migratory pest species in the world due to its ability to reproduce rapidly, migrate long distances, and devastate crops. Plagues of the desert locust are occurring, on average, one year in every six. In the last ten years two major upsurges have occurred. The desert locust exhibits phenotypic plasticity in numerous morphological, physiological and behavioral traits as their population density increases. Management of desert locust is very difficult, because they have habit of moving from one place to another. Hence, integrated desert locust management strategies are advocated to protect the crop loss from the desert locust.