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311. Unlocking the Key to Predicting the Behavior of the World's Most Destructive Locust Pest

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From the end of 2019 to the first half of 2020, media around the world, including Japan, reported that the desert locust, which had caused an outbreak in the Arabian Peninsula, had invaded South Asia and East Africa, and the images of swarms of desert locusts flying so large that they darkened the sky shook people.
 
Some scientists have pointed out that one of the reasons for the recent desert locust outbreaks is the increasing frequency of cyclones and other abnormal weather due to the warming of the Indian Ocean.

On the other hand, in order to establish drastic and effective control methods in the event of an outbreak, it is important to understand the ecology of the desert locust. More specifically, in order to predict outbreaks and control them during the larval or nymph stage before they become long-distance flying adults, it is necessary to understand the behavioral patterns of desert locust, especially how the nymphs regulate their body temperature, move, forage, and digest. 

JIRCAS has conducted field research in the Sahara Desert in Mauritania, West Africa, which is the habitat of the desert locust, and has clarified the behavior of gregarious desert locust nymphs to survive in the desert, which is considered to be a harsh environment with severe cold and warm conditions. The results of this study were published in the journal Ecological Applications. In the print version of the issue, which was published online on June 1, a photo of the desert locust in a "stilting behavior," a posture in which the desert locust lifts its body to be distant from the hot ground surface in order to cool down its body temperature, has been featured on the cover*. 

The JIRCAS Food Program is working on the development of technologies for the integrated control of transboundary pests such as the desert locust.
 

Reference

Koutaro Ould Maeno et al. (2021) A general model of the thermal constraints on the world’s most destructive locust, Schistocerca gregaria. Ecological Applications, https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.2310

*This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: [COVER PHOTO: A general model of the thermal constraints on the world’s most destructive locust, Schistocerca gregaria, which has been published in final form at [https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.2167]. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions.

Contributor: MAENO Koutaro (Crop, Livestock and Environment Division)

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