Are locusts beneficial insects or pests?

Locusts, also known as grasshoppers, etc., are collectively referred to as Orthoptera grasshoppers. They are distributed in tropical and temperate grasslands and deserts all over the world. There are more than 10000 species in the world and more than 1000 species in China. Among them, East Asian migratory locusts are the most widely distributed and most harmful in China. Let's take a look at whether locusts are beneficial insects or pests.

Are locusts beneficial insects or pests?

Locusts are agricultural pests. Locusts are an important part of agriculture, forestry and animal husbandry ecosystems. Many harmful locust species can cause varying degrees of harm to agriculture, forestry and animal husbandry. There are more than 10,000 species of locusts in the world, of which about 300 species can cause harm to agriculture, forestry and animal husbandry. Locusts can occur all over the world except Antarctica and north of 55 °north latitude of Eurasia. The area of locusts in the world is 46.8 million square kilometers all the year round, and the population of 1x8 in the world is often disturbed by locusts.

What are the hazards of locusts?

Locusts mainly include migratory locusts and soil locusts, which have a wide range of food, and can eat leaves, tender stems, buds and young fruits of wheat, rice, millet, corn, beans, tobacco, reeds, vegetables, fruit trees, trees and weeds, etc., and bite the leaves into notches or holes. In large occurrence, the crops can be eaten into smooth rods or eaten completely, resulting in serious economic losses. Migratory locusts mainly feed on Gramineae and Cyperaceae, and are most fond of weeds such as Reed, barnyardgrass and red grass, as well as wheat, corn, sorghum, rice, millet and sugarcane in cultivated crops. when there is a lack of food, it can also harm crops such as cotton, soybeans and vegetables.

Harm prevention and control of locusts

1. Agricultural control: the main methods of agricultural control of locusts can be summarized into three kinds.

① reduces food sources: many kinds of locusts eat corn, wheat, sorghum, rice, millet, etc., rather than soybeans, alfalfa, fruit trees, etc. Therefore, planting soybeans, alfalfa, fruit trees and other trees in locusts as much as possible can control locusts.

② reduces living areas: some locusts occur in low-lying areas, so we can transform such plots into ponds, fish and shrimp, which can greatly reduce locusts' living places and better control locusts.

③ reduces spawning sites: some locusts like to lay eggs on dry, bare land, increase afforestation, increase the number of plants, and make plant coverage more than 70%, so that the land is not suitable for locusts to lay eggs and can reduce the harm of locusts.

2. Biological control: at present, there are three main methods for locust control.

① protects and uses natural enemies to control locusts, such as frogs, lizards, birds, predatory beetles, parasitic bees, parasitic flies and so on.

② uses biological pesticides to control locusts. At present, the biological pesticides used to control locusts include locust microsporidia, Metarhizium anisopliae and azadirachtin.

③ uses herding chickens and ducks to control locusts, and chickens and ducks also prey on locusts. It also increases the efficiency of agricultural production while controlling locusts.