Trivia question for Nov-29-2011

Olivia likes bugs… of all kinds, as is apparent by her trivia for today.  These are one of the most notorious insects; able to strip crops on a biblical scale and ruin local economies.  They lead an inoffensive solitary life or sometimes live in swarms consisting of vast numbers, dependent on weather and available food.

These guys can consume the approximate equivalent of their body mass each day (2 g) in green vegetation: leaves, flowers, bark, stems, fruit, and seeds. Nearly all crops, and non-crop plants, are at risk, including pearl millet, rice, maize, sorghum, sugarcane, barley, cotton, fruit trees, date palm, vegetables, rangeland grasses, acacia, pines, and banana. What is more, the droppings from these insects are toxic, and spoil any stored food that is left uneaten.

So here are Olivia’s questions:  Tell us what this insect is called and tell us how long their eggs can survive in the desert sands awaiting rainfall?  Also, tell us how many gallons of insecticide is needed to kill off 180 million of these insects?

Good Luck 😉

Answer:

I think Olivia’s questions might have been a bit tough, we had several guesses but no one was able to answer the questions correctly.  The abundant insect we featured is the Desert Locust.  Plagues of the desert locust have threatened agricultural production in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia for centuries. The livelihood of at least one-tenth of the world’s human population can be affected by this voracious insect. The desert locust is potentially the most dangerous of the locust pests because of the ability of swarms to fly rapidly across great distances. It has two to five generations per year. The last major desert locust upsurge in 2004-05 caused significant crop losses in West Africa and had a negative impact on food security in the region. While the desert locust alone is not responsible for famines, it can be an important contributing factor.

These insects have a complex life-cycle; eggs can survive several years in desert sands and then hatch after a brief rain.  Swarms of these guys can travel up to 1,500-miles.  many run out of food or are blown out to sea and destroyed.  More than 52-gallons of insecticide are needed to kill 180-million locusts.  Here is more on these resilient insects: Desert Locust

Thanks for playing along 😉