Latest Australian plague locust Stories

Protein associated with learning implicated in causing grasshoppers to swarm New research has found that a protein associated with learning and memory plays an integral role in changing the behavior of locusts from that of harmless grasshoppers into swarming pests. Desert Locusts are a species of grasshopper that have evolved a Jekyll-and-Hyde disposition to survive in their harsh environment. In their solitary phase, they avoid other locusts and occur in very low density. When the...

Farmers in eastern Australia are battling a plague of locusts, which have infested a 190,000 square mile stretch from central Queensland all the way south to the capital of Melbourne."What we've got certainly is a very large and widespread infestation," Australian Plague Locust Commission (APLC) chief Chris Adriaansen told AFP reporters on Wednesday. "It's simply a reflection of the fact that we've had widespread rain across that entire area."According to Adriaansen,...