The orange grasshopper is dangerous to humans. Locust - what the insect looks like and where it lives

Crimeans report a massive invasion of Asian migratory locusts. The problem is confirmed in the Crimean Ministry Agriculture. More than one thousand hectares have already been affected by the pest in the Sovetsky, Dzhankoysky and Krasnoperekopsky districts. Locusts eat wheat, rye, corn, rice, potatoes and other vegetables. Within the next few days, work to combat locusts should be completed on the peninsula, says Andrei Alekseenko, director of the Crimean branch of the Rosselkhozcenter.

How to fight locusts and why they are dangerous - about this on air Radio Crimea.Realities says candidate of biological sciences, employee of the Institute of Zoology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine Grigory Popov.

– Are locusts dangerous for humans?

– What we now call locusts are actually their distant relatives, Asian grasshoppers big size. Real, huge locusts are found in third world countries - primarily in Africa - and only occasionally appear in Asia, Europe, and Australia. It is not dangerous for humans, but one swarm can completely destroy a crop in an agricultural area. In history, this has often led to the migration of entire peoples. Locusts can cause serious economic problems; some countries spend millions of dollars to combat them.

– Where did these Asian grasshoppers come from to Crimea?

A distance of 300-400 kilometers is not a problem at all for locusts. One flock can stretch for 100-150 kilometers

Grigory Popov

– Most likely, from the Krasnodar region of Russia - there they live at the mouths of large rivers. A distance of 300-400 kilometers is not a problem at all for locusts. Its favorite habitats are floodplains, that is, huge spaces overgrown with reeds. If the floodplains are heavily inundated, then population explosions do not occur. If they dry out, then the locusts multiply greatly and eat everything in the area - primarily cereals. Then huge flocks of flying individuals are formed, which fly away in search of food. One flock can stretch for 100-150 kilometers, it can contain several tens of billions of insects.

Senior Researcher at the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine Andrey Fedorenko notes that locusts are polyphagous and dangerous to all crops. When there are no outbreaks, it can live anywhere, even in forest plantations, but if an outbreak occurs, all plants in a large radius will be affected.

​– Doesn’t nature provide a mechanism for self-regulation, Grigory?

– It is provided for, but if the locusts are given the opportunity to self-regulate, then they can eat everything in entire regions. Not only cereals, but also the foliage of apple trees, watermelons, and other berries - I emphasize absolutely all vegetation. As far as I know, in Crimea locusts spread in small areas that are easy to treat.

– In Crimea, chemicals were sprayed using aircraft. Will this help?

Locusts can eat everything - not only cereals, but also the foliage of apple trees, watermelons, and other berries.

Grigory Popov

- Yes, definitely. There are no ineffective methods - they are just sometimes used ineffectively due to technical difficulties or weather. It is usually better to prevent the spread of locusts than to deal with the consequences. This is how entomological services work in Europe. If the Crimean outbreak is not suppressed now, then the insects will have time to lay eggs, and farmers will receive a supply of locusts for next year. Then it will be necessary not just chemical treatment, but plowing. The total damage from such disasters in particular advanced cases can reach billions of dollars.

(Vladislav Lentsev worked on the text version of the material)

Our world is amazingly beautiful. It is rich in a variety of plants, animals, and insects. Some individuals seem to be created in order to please a person’s gaze, to give joy from realizing the beauty of certain forms of life. However, there is no day without night. There are creatures in the world that not only have a frightening appearance, but also bring harm to humans through their vital activity. Locust insect - clear example similar creation. How dangerous are they?

Locust insect: description

Locusts and the so-called locusts together form a single superfamily - locusts. This is the first most numerous group belonging to the order. If you compare the locust with its closest relatives, grasshoppers, you will notice that it has shorter antennae, its hearing organs have an unusual specificity, and the female has a shorter ovipositor. Most of Orthoptera insects are natural “musicians” of the natural world. The locust insect is no exception.

Where does this pest live? About six hundred species of locusts live in Russia, terrorizing mostly the southern regions of the country. During the day, its chirping drowns out the singing of grasshoppers, due to the large flock. The apparatus that allows the locust to produce a melody is located on the thighs of the hind legs, as well as on the elytra. On the inner part of the thigh there is a sequence of tubercles. The vein here is seriously thickened. Making accelerated movements of the thigh, the insect touches it with tubercles, which leads to intermittent chirping. The locust's hearing organs are located on the sides of the first abdominal segment. In some species, the lower wings are colored bright colors. In case of danger, the locust takes off sharply and scares away the enemy with a loud song and colorful colors.

What do locusts eat?

The locust insect, unlike its relatives - grasshoppers, feeds exclusively on plants, not disdaining agricultural crops. This pest has a truly brutal appetite. It eats all the plants it comes across on its way. If a swarm of locusts reaches the fields where a person grows corn, grain and other crops, the region under the terror of the insect may suffer from famine.

In a day, an adult locust eats vegetation equal in weight to its own body. Over the course of its life, it can destroy more than three hundred grams of green mass. The offspring left by one female locust eats enough food to feed two sheep during one summer. Swarms of the pest can easily destroy thousands of hectares of crops in a few hours.

Types of locusts

Harmful insect species are usually divided into gregarious individuals and solitary individuals. On South Russian Federation especially common migratory insect locusts A photo of this pest can be found in any biological encyclopedia. Locusts live very hidden. During mass reproduction, it groups the larvae into one large aggregation, called a swarm. Sometimes its area is simply huge. If many larvae hatch in one area, they immediately begin migrating. Otherwise, they remain in place and lead a sedentary, solitary lifestyle.

Swarms of locusts

In the fifties of the twentieth century in North Africa, people noticed a huge swarm of locusts, the length of which reached two hundred and fifty kilometers and a width of twenty. In previous centuries, there were known cases when hordes of this insect reached Europe. Some flocks numbered forty billion individuals. They accumulate in so-called flying clouds. Their area is sometimes equal to thousands of square kilometers.

The wings of an insect rub during flight - a creaking sound is heard. When a cloud of millions of individuals passes by, the noise it makes is mistaken for thunder. The locust insect, accumulating into adult swarms, can travel about one hundred kilometers a day. Flying at a speed of fifteen kilometers per hour. History has recorded cases where small swarms of locusts traveled across the ocean, covering a distance of almost six thousand kilometers.

How do locusts reproduce?

The locust insect reproduces using its shortened ovipositor. As a rule, the female of this pest lays eggs directly into the ground. It secretes a liquid mass that resembles glue. Organic matter hardens over time. Using it, the insect cements pieces of soil around future pests. A so-called egg capsule is formed - a durable cocoon for eggs with hard walls. If the “population density” of insects becomes too high, the locusts gather in a swarm and fly away from their habitat. In this way, she “unloads” the field, which is no longer able to feed all the individuals living on it.

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10.05.2017

Since ancient times, the invasion of voracious locusts has been considered a terrifying natural disaster. Some flocks, when flying from place to place, form huge clouds of insects in the sky, the area of ​​which can reach thousands of square kilometers and number several billion individuals. The pest devours all the vegetation along its route, so after its invasion only bare soil remains.

The locust is omnivorous and feeds most actively in the early morning and late evening, eating leaves, flowers, young shoots and fruits of plants. During the course of a day, an adult can cover a distance of fifty (!) kilometers, which makes it very dangerous in a crowd large number relatives.

A massive revival of locusts and the formation of a large swarm of pests occurs approximately once every ten to fifteen years. During this period, a huge flock can cover a distance of three hundred to a thousand kilometers per day (if there is a fair wind) and simultaneously occupy an area of ​​​​about two thousand hectares of land.

The attack of huge swarms of locusts was first mentioned in the chronicles of Rus' dated 1108. As a result of this invasion, terrible famine occurred everywhere. They say that trouble does not come alone, and massive insect attacks were repeated in 1094, 1095, 1103 and 1195.

In 1824, locusts raged in the Kherson, Ekaterinoslav and Tauride provinces.

As part of the fight against this harmful scourge, Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin, among other officials, was sent to the south of Ukraine. Returning from a business trip on May 28, the poet submitted a report to the office with the following content:

Locust

Collegiate Secretary Alexander Pushkin.

Locusts are extremely voracious. Every day, an adult insect eats as much plant food as it weighs, so it is not for nothing that the locust attack became the eighth Egyptian plague and a sign for Pharaoh so that he would finally allow Moses to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt ( Ref. ).

Even now, the locusts, no, no, will manifest themselves. This happens especially often on the African continent, which is facilitated by the hot climate.

The last significant locust outbreaks occurred in the North Caucasus (in 2010 and 2015), and the largest outbreak was recorded in 1875 in the United States, when a huge swarm of insects caused colossal devastation in the state of Texas.

In Ukraine, no evidence of mass reproduction of locusts has yet been recorded, but if the average air temperature continues to rise (and such a trend is visible), then the global warming factor may cause outbreaks of a sharp increase in the locust population in our area.

Locusts are found everywhere, except that they are difficult to detect in the northern regions of the globe, since they are a heat-loving insect and in natural conditions, with the onset of cold weather, the number of insects sharply decreases.

When flying, locusts make a creaking sound, so when a huge colony of insects flies, the sounds of individual individuals merge, amplifying many times, and become an eerie rumble, which from a distance resembles the roar of summer thunder.

Adult (imago)

Total locust family ( lat. Acrididae) has about ten thousand species of insects, but the most harmful are two forms: Asian and migratory ( lat. Locusta migratoria).

The appearance of the locust is unsightly and resembles a large grasshopper or cricket, only with more powerful jaws.

The body of an adult migratory individual can reach six centimeters in length, and the largest can be over fifteen (up to twenty) centimeters.

The wings of an adult insect are greenish with brown spots, the rear ones are transparent and have a green or yellow tint.

The appearance of the winged form of the flying locust is preceded by the usual green filly- a loner who can easily be found on an ordinary sun-drenched lawn with wildflowers.

One adult locust lives from eight months to two years and has two life stages, forms or phases of development. These forms are very different from each other in appearance and physiology and in the nature of behavior, so for a long time they were classified as various types locust family.

Currently, scientists perceive both forms as the same species.

Single phase of insect development

Single locusts are larger in size, saturated light green color body, for which she received the nickname “Green filly”. This phase of locusts is mostly harmless, since the insect leads an inactive lifestyle and has only one life goal: to maintain the population of insects of its species. Therefore, as long as there is enough food and everything in the locust’s life is going well, the filly lays eggs, giving birth to green fillies similar to themselves. But as soon as food becomes insufficient (usually this happens in dry years), the locust begins to actively lay eggs, the DNA of which contains a “march” program for searching for food, and the density of larvae begins to increase in arithmetic progression. Soon they begin the transition to the second (gregarious) phase of development.

· The gregarious phase of insect development

The gregarious phase of locusts is extremely dangerous. At this stage, the insect acquires a more saturated color, and the body undergoes metamorphosis. The imago becomes more adapted to long flight, and thus the filly turns into a locust.

Adult insects of the gregarious phase begin to cluster into dense flocks as they reproduce.

Scientists entomologists conducted an interesting experiment, during which several mirrors were placed in front of a sedentary female green filly. Soon, constantly bumping into her reflections and conflicting with them, the female began to lay eggs with a nomadic life programmed into them. As it later turned out, the green filly turns into a locust of the gregarious phase due to a banal lack of protein, which causes the female to sharply increase the population of flying individuals.

In years with abundant food and moderate weather conditions without significant temperature fluctuations, single individuals do not cause much harm to plants, so only the gregarious phase of the birth and development of insects should be feared.

Reproduction

With the onset of the first cold weather (usually in October), the locusts die, but before that they lay eggs for wintering, creating egg capsules or capsules (clutches) in which they place from fifty to one hundred eggs. The capsule is produced from the female gonads and has the appearance of a foamy liquid, which, having hardened, becomes a reliable shield for the eggs, thanks to which they do not freeze.

During the summer, one female gives birth to one to three generations of insects.

In the spring, as the earth warms up, larvae emerge from the eggs. white, which soon darken and begin to feed on vegetation. Over the course of about a month, sometimes a little more, the insect larva goes through five developmental stages (instars) until it turns into an adult insect.

The mass reproduction of locusts in the gregarious phase is directly related to weather conditions. Trying to maintain water and protein balance in the body, the flock must continuously feed, so it constantly moves in search of fresh food.

A lack of protein turns some of the insects of the colony into predators and, thus, dividing the flock into two groups. One part, running away from its brethren, seeks food, constantly searching for new vegetation, and the other part at this time replenishes protein reserves, eating, including its relatives.

Pest control

Agrotechnical measures

As a preventative 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 cultivation (ploughing) of the soil, which destroys capsules with eggs.

Chemical methods of control

Effectively protecting plantings in the face of unprecedented gluttony and mass numbers of locusts is possible only with the use of chemical methods plant protection.

If there is a mass concentration of locust larvae in one area, use pesticides with a validity period of at least thirty days. To treat and kill insects, they take such preparations as “Karate”, “Confidor”, “Image”, but it is possible efficient use poisons to combat the Colorado potato beetle.

A good result is shown by the systemic drug “Clotiamet VDG”, which provides reliable protection against locusts for three weeks. This poison is good because it can be effectively used in a tank mixture with other microfertilizers, protective agents and plant growth stimulants, but it is necessary to first test for compatibility with other chemicals.

Preparations such as “Gladiator” and “Damilin” effectively destroy locusts (both larvae and adult insects). The insecticide "Damilin" has negative impact on larvae, slowing down their development and disrupting the timing of the formation of the chitinous body shell, as a result of which the insects die.

The big advantage of the drug is its low toxicity.

Locusts - friend or foe?

One of the cute signs of a hot summer day is the deafening crackling of locusts and the melodic roulades of grasshoppers... But when the abundance of insects increases by orders of magnitude, these sounds indicate a disaster, environmental and economic. It is not for nothing that the locust has already gained fame as one of the “plagues of Egypt”: “And the locust attacked the whole land of Egypt, and lay throughout the whole land of Egypt in great multitudes; there had never been such locusts before, and there will never be such after this.”

For many decades, scientists from different countries are trying to unravel the secrets of these insects, known since biblical times. Why, for example, do some locust species remain rare, while the numbers of others can increase significantly? Why do individuals of some species suddenly change their appearance at the peak of their numbers? There are still not all the answers to all the questions, but we managed to find out that the consumption of crops by these pests turns out to be a benefit for natural herbaceous communities, since it contributes to the destruction and rapid return of plant mass to the cycle of matter and energy

“And the locusts and caterpillars came without number.”
Psalms, Psalm 104

Steppe. Hot summer day. The deafening crackling of locusts and the rumble of grasshoppers... It is at such times that you realize how many of these so sweet-to-hear “singing in the grass” are there. But when the abundance of some of them increases by orders of magnitude, this is already a disaster, environmental and economic.

For many decades, scientists from different countries have been trying to unravel the secrets of these insects, known since biblical times. Why, for example, do some locust species remain rare, while the numbers of others can increase significantly? Why do some of them form huge flocks from time to time? There are still not all answers to such questions...

Locusts (Acridoidea) are fairly large insects belonging to the order Orthoptera. Their closest relatives are the well-known grasshoppers and crickets, as well as little-known small inhabitants of the plant litter, jumpers and quails.

Many of the Orthoptera are clearly visible in natural habitats: they are brightly colored, “musical”, jump high and are capable of flight.

These insects have long attracted human attention: in the East, it is customary to keep crickets and grasshoppers at home instead of the usual songbirds, and fights between male crickets have been an exciting sporting spectacle for centuries. In a number of countries in Asia and Africa, local locust species are still considered a delicacy: they are fried, boiled, and dried.

But still, much more often we remember them when we learn about the damage caused by the next invasion of voracious insects. It is not surprising that in the human mind locusts are primarily associated with the “image of the enemy.”

And the locusts came upon all the land of Egypt...

The emergence of agriculture over the past ten thousand years is integrally associated with regular invasions of locusts into cultivated fields. Images of one of the most famous types of pests - the desert locust - are found in the tombs of the first Egyptian pharaohs. The damage caused by desert locusts is evidenced by Assyro-Babylonian cuneiform tablets.

Locusts are mentioned several dozen times in the Bible, mostly as a creature hostile to humans. No wonder it earned fame as one of the apocalyptic “plagues of Egypt”: “And the locusts attacked all the land of Egypt, and lay throughout the whole land of Egypt in great multitudes; There have never been such locusts before, and there will never be such after this” (Exodus 10:14).

Residents of Ancient Rus' also encountered mass reproduction of this pest. Thus, the “Tale of Bygone Years” describes a terrible picture observed at the end of the 11th century: “The locusts came on August 28 and covered the earth, and it was scary to watch, they walked in Nordic countries, devouring grass and millet."

Not much has changed since then. Thus, during the locust invasion in 1986–1989. In North Africa and the Middle East, almost 17 million hectares of farmland were treated with chemical insecticides, and the total costs of eliminating the outbreak itself and its consequences exceeded $270 million. In 2000, more than 10 million hectares were cultivated in the CIS countries (mainly in Kazakhstan and southern Russia).

Outbreaks of mass reproduction are primarily characteristic of the so-called gregarious locusts(in everyday life - just locusts). In favorable conditions they form kuliga– huge accumulations of larvae, the density of which can exceed 1000 specimens/m2. Bands, and then swarms of adult individuals, can actively migrate, sometimes over very long distances (there are known cases of swarms of locusts flying across the Atlantic Ocean).

Fortunately, only a few species are capable of reaching catastrophic numbers. Firstly, these are desert and migratory locusts. These most famous and widespread representatives of gregarious locusts have another feature - a pronounced phase variability. This means that individuals at different population phases differ noticeably from each other in appearance. Individuals of the gregarious phase are characterized by dark coloration, longer wings and better muscle development.

Changes in appearance and the numbers of other species of gregarious locusts (for example, the Italian and Moroccan locusts living within the CIS) are not so striking, which, however, does not prevent their flocks from flying over considerable distances (tens and even hundreds of kilometers) in search of food.

Creators of Fertility

It is the gregarious species of locusts that cause the main damage during the years of outbreaks of their numbers, destroying almost all green parts of plants along the way. But also their non-gregarious relatives (who are often called fillies And skates), as well as their distant relatives from the order Orthoptera, can also reproduce in large numbers and destroy plant cover both in natural ecosystems and in fields.

But should these insects be considered just a punishment for humanity? In fact, as herbivores, they are an essential element of food webs in grassland ecosystems, primarily in steppes, prairies, semi-deserts and savannas. This not so obvious role of theirs was noted in the biblical texts: “What was left of the caterpillar was eaten by locusts, what was left of the locust was eaten by worms, and what was left of the worms was eaten by beetles” (Book of the Prophet Joel, 1, 4).

The famous Siberian entomologist I.V. Stebaev back in the early 1960s. showed that in the temperate latitudes of Eurasia, locusts during the warm season can consume over 10% of the green phytomass of grasses. In addition, they actively use litter for food, and if there is a lack of plant food, they are able to switch to the corpses of their fellows, the excrement of other animals, etc. (locusts can even eat textiles and leather goods!). One average individual of the Siberian steppe locust consumes approximately 3–3.5 g of green parts of plants during its entire life, which is approximately 20 times its adult weight (Rubtsov, 1932). Slightly higher figures were obtained for North American and South African locusts.

Such gluttony of these insects paradoxically turns out to be natural communities good. Thus, Stebaev and his colleagues found that locusts contribute to the destruction and rapid return of plant mass to the cycle of matter and energy: in the intestines of many steppe locust species, the leaves and stems of cereals are not so much digested as crushed and fragmented, and symbiotic intestinal microorganisms enrich these fragments vitamins of group B. As a result, locust excrement turns into excellent organic fertilizer. In addition, Canadian researchers have shown that locusts, by eating leaves, activate plant growth and increase their productivity.

Thus, although the damage caused by locusts and other orthoptera can be enormous, their role in ensuring the normal functioning and sustainability natural ecosystems, especially herbaceous ones, is colossal.

Is man an enemy or a friend?

People have been trying to fight locusts for many centuries. Until the beginning of the 20th century. have been used enough simple ways: mechanical destruction, burning and plowing of oviposition deposits.

Later, various chemicals, and over the past decades, the range of insecticides has changed significantly: the notorious DDT and HCH were first replaced by organophosphorus compounds, and then by more specific synthetic pyrethroids, inhibitors of the synthesis of chitin (the main component of the exoskeleton of insects), etc.

However, despite the reduction in overall toxicity and effective doses of new insecticides, ecological problems their use has not disappeared (primarily this applies to the death of other invertebrates). Biological products, biologically active substances and other similar products, which in many cases give a good effect, do not have these disadvantages. However, the effect of such drugs does not appear immediately, and they cannot quickly suppress a pest outbreak.

As a result, despite all the long and titanic efforts, including the massive use of DDT and large-scale plowing of the virgin lands, it has still not been possible to solve the “locust” problem. However, in some cases, human impact on locusts and other orthoptera can have disastrous consequences, and this applies not only to rare species with small habitats. Thus, according to the American researcher D. Lockwood, a victim of changes in land use practices in late XIX V. became the famous Rocky Mountain locust mentioned above. After another outbreak of mass reproduction, its populations remained in river valleys, which began to be actively plowed. As a result, today this species is considered completely extinct: its last representative was caught in 1903.

But there are also opposite examples: in some cases, human activity contributes not to a decrease, but to an increase in the number of Orthoptera. This result is caused, for example, by overgrazing of livestock, the introduction of anti-erosion farming systems and an increase in the area of ​​fallow lands. Thus, in recent decades in the southeast Western Siberia Due to the use of anthropogenic landscapes, the ranges of the lesser crosswing, blue-winged filly, common laminated wing, etc. are expanding.

There are also known cases of anthropogenic dispersal of Orthoptera over long distances. It was in this way that several European species, such as the large ambush predator the steppe racket, colonized some warm-temperate regions of eastern North America.

Singing in the grass

Locusts and their relatives from the order Orthoptera themselves represent a very interesting object for research. Thus, few people know that among them there are species that spend their entire or almost their entire lives on trees and shrubs (there are especially many such forms in tropical forests). Some inhabitants of warm latitudes are able to move along the surface of the water like water striders, while others are able to swim quite well, even underwater. A number of orthoptera (for example, mole crickets) dig holes, and pseudo-grasshoppers can settle in caves.

It is believed that locusts are polyphagous, but in reality almost all of them prefer to feed on very specific groups of plants, and some are even characterized by a pronounced trophic specialization. Such gourmets can eat, for example, without harm to their health, poisonous plants(wrestlers, hellebores, etc.). Among grasshoppers, especially large ones, predators or species with mixed nutrition predominate, and a significant part of the remaining orthoptera are capable of processing dead plant litter.

The adaptations of insects associated with reproduction are very interesting and varied. This especially applies to means of communication, by which the gender of an individual can be recognized. Orthoptera males are unique in the variety of ways they produce sounds: here is the interaction of the right and left elytra; hind limbs and the upper side of the elytra; hind limbs and underside of elytra; rear thighs; Krauss special organ; finally, he simply “gnashes” his jaws. Sometimes females can sing too.

Species that are not capable of making sounds often use signal coloration: males have very brightly colored hind wings, hind legs, inner side hind femora, which insects display during courtship.

In most locusts, after fertilization, the females lay a group of eggs in the soil, surrounded by a more or less durable shell. Such masonry in association with traditional clay vessel called a capsule. Other orthoptera also lay eggs directly in the soil, but there are grasshoppers that use green plants for this. They file leaves or shoots with the edge of their ovipositor and lay eggs in the resulting gap.

The well-developed ability to move among locusts and their relatives also deserves special mention. Many of them are capable of actively walking, jumping and flying, however, as a rule, their movements do not exceed tens of meters. Ratchets common in southern Siberia can stay in the air for tens of minutes: using flows warm air, they rise to a height of over 10 m. But even these record holders most often return to the area from which they took off (Kazakova, Sergeev, 1987). The exception is gregarious locusts. As already mentioned, they can move over much longer distances: larvae - up to tens and hundreds of meters, and adults fly tens and hundreds of kilometers.

Some flightless species use non-trivial methods for dispersal. Thus, the English researcher G. Hewitt and his colleagues (Hewitt et al., 1990) observed in the Alps how individuals of the wingless filly jumped on sheep and literally moved on horseback.

Two centuries at gunpoint

The locust and its relatives have been actively studied over the past two centuries: the order Orthoptera was identified by P. A. Latreille back in 1793. Researchers of the 19th century. mainly engaged in the description of new forms and the study individual development these insects, but even then the first ecological observations appeared, including those of potentially harmful species.

In the 20th century these traditional directions have evolved: numerous new taxa have been identified, mainly from tropical regions; The basic patterns of distribution of Orthoptera have been established. But special attention was paid to ecology - intrapopulation interactions, dynamics of populations and communities, role in natural and anthropogenic landscapes.

Our compatriots played an outstanding role in the study of locusts, working both in former USSR, and abroad. Thus, a member of the English Royal Society and the creator of the famous Anti-Locust Center in London B.P. Uvarov in the 1920s. developed the theory of phases, which became the basis modern ecology locusts

Of course, at the end of the 20th and beginning of the 21st centuries. Researchers have the opportunity to obtain fundamentally new data about these insects using molecular genetic, biochemical and information methods. This is especially true for the mechanisms of transition from the solitary phase to the gregarious phase and back, migrations of bands and flocks, etc.

However, these opportunities are often not realized. This is largely due to the fact that interest in these insects (as well as research funding) drops sharply after the next outbreak is suppressed, when the danger to agriculture has passed.

Orthoptera have perfectly adapted to their habitat, having perfectly mastered camouflage techniques. For example, the coloring of species living on the stems of cereals seems to “dissolve” such creatures in the thickness of the grass stand. Their neighbors, living on the soil surface, “hide” due to a disjunctive combination of spots of their color, imitating plant litter.
In the grasslands of warm regions there are species whose body shape imitates the stems of cereals, and the inhabitants of desert landscapes often almost merge with the preferred type of surface due to their unique coloring and body structure. Orthoptera (especially grasshoppers) that inhabit trees and shrubs, often looking like leaves

However, the data that was obtained over the course of recent years, allow us to look at the locust problem from a fundamentally different point of view. Thus, it is traditionally believed that within one natural region the spatiotemporal dynamics of settlements of one species are almost the same.

However, studies of Italian locust populations in the Kulunda steppe in 1999-2009. revealed a complex “wave-like” pattern of long-term spatial redistribution of maximum and minimum densities of insects. In other words, even neighboring groups of local settlements of this locust species in different time emerged from the population depression and reached the peak of reproduction.

What determines such different character population trajectories? It turned out that one of the main factors determining the organization of populations of massive (and often potentially harmful) locusts is the heterogeneity of the natural environment. After all, each habitat is different from the other; moreover, in each of them such important indicators for insects as moisture content, soil and vegetation characteristics, and the degree of anthropogenic impact are constantly changing.

Another disturbing result is the coincidence of many areas of locust outbreaks with centers of diversity of other insects. And pest control can ultimately lead to the death of rare species.

The information available to scientists today suggests that nowadays people underestimate the problem of locusts and their relatives.

It is necessary to continue long-term studies of the ecology and biogeography of populations of mass species, as well as multi-species communities. Such data can serve as the basis for monitoring, as well as the development of population management measures aimed at minimizing environmental damage and maintaining biodiversity. The system itself for managing the populations of these insects should not be aimed at suppressing mass reproduction, but at preventing it.

There is a need to develop appropriate applications information technologies, primarily geographic information systems and Earth remote sensing systems. It is in this direction that a technological breakthrough is possible, which will ensure that forecasts reach a fundamentally different level. And this is especially important now, in conditions of increasing frequency of climatic disturbances and intensification of human activity transforming the environment.

Literature

Lachininsky A.V., Sergeev M.G., Childebaev M.K. et al. Locusts of Kazakhstan, Central Asia and adjacent territories // International Association of Applied Acridology, University of Wyoming. Laramie, 2002. 387 p.

Sergeev M. G. Orthoptera insects (Orthoptera) of Northern Asia: fifty years later // Eurasian Entomological Journal. 2007. T. 6, no. 2. pp. 129–141 + tab II.

Lockwood J. A. Locust. New York: Basic Books, 2004. 294 p.

Lockwood J. A., Latchininsky A. V., Sergeev M. G. (Eds.) Grasshoppers and grassland health: Managing grasshopper outbreaks without risking environmental disaster. Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2000. 221 p.

Samways M. J., Sergeev M. G. Orthoptera and landscape change // The bionomics of grasshoppers, katydids and their kin. CAB International, 1997, pp. 147–162.

Sergeev M. G. Conservation of orthopteran biological diversity relative to landscape change in temperate Eurasia // Journ. Insect Conservation. 1998. Vol. 2, N 3/4. P. 247–252.

When forming a huge flock, the insect can eat all the vegetation that may be encountered on its way. Total weight of plants eaten per day is equal to the pest’s own weight, but the average flock destroys 3-4 tons of greenery every day.

In addition, the diet expands over the years - the older the insect, the more omnivorous it becomes.

Maybe have:

• Reed and reed thickets along the banks of rivers, ponds, lakes, swamps;
• Any cereal crops - wheat, oats, corn, rye, barley, millet, sorghum and others. With less appetite, the insect destroys flax, buckwheat, and hemp;
• Vegetables- soybeans, table and sugar, and others;

• Orchards- the pest can eat both leaves and fruits and gnaw off the bark of young trees;
• Landings- berries, petioles are eaten, grape leaves;
• , melons- watermelons, sunflower planting;
• Individually growing trees, shrubs, grass, including entire forests.

When locusts invaded a settlement or village, a reed or thatched roof and wooden household furnishings were often destroyed. In arid areas, the pest can feed on any dried grass and leaves.

How does the oral apparatus work?

The locust's mouthparts are gnawing, it is intended for feeding solid foods. This type is the original one, and from it other forms of mouth structure in other insects arise. The gnawing apparatus contains the most complete set of elements - the upper and lower lips, and two pairs of upper and lower jaws.

Using the upper lip, the insect determines the suitability of the item being eaten. The upper jaws move in a horizontal plane, bite off a small piece and grind it into smaller pieces. Highly mobile the lower jaws push crushed food into the esophagus.

In addition to the feeding function, the upper and lower jaws can be used by insects for protection in battle with the enemy.

Do locusts bite?

Very often it is confused with grasshoppers. Although they have a similar appearance, they also have fundamental differences:

• The grasshopper has long whiskers that help it find prey (the locust has short whiskers);
• The grasshopper leads a predominantly nocturnal lifestyle (the locust is a day resident).

Since the grasshopper is a predator, it is he who can bite a person quite painfully, very often to the point of bleeding, with the introduction of a burning composition into the wound.

Do locusts have teeth? In this insect's mouthparts no teeth- it is a herbivore, not a carnivore. She will not specifically attack a person and try to harm him.

Nevertheless the jaws have quite a lot of strength necessary for quickly gnawing off pieces from hard plants. And when the self-preservation instinct is triggered, the pest can sensitively “pinch” the skin. If this happens, it is recommended to treat the bite site with hydrogen peroxide and iodine.

The locust also cannot sting - it does not have stings provided by nature.

This is a huge disaster for all farmers and gardeners. It moves in large flocks, quickly and feeds on any vegetation that is available to it.

Not only crops can be destroyed, but also trees, shrubs, reed and thatched roofs, wooden furniture. Locusts have gnawing mouthparts designed for biting and grinding solid food. She cannot bite or sting.

Photo

Consequences of the invasion in pictures: