What is a locust swarm?

 

                     For thousands of years, locust swarms have devastated farmland throughout Asia and Africa. A typical swarm can be 50 km long and contain more than 100,000 million locusts. These animals are large grasshoppers that normally live a solitary and harmless existence. When their population builds up to a high level, they begin to mass together and migrate in search of food. These migrations can cover many thousands of kilometres.

                  Locust swarms can now be predicted by monitoring the insects’ behaviour. Locusts can be sprayed with pesticides to prevent them from swarming.

Picture credit: google