Recently, there have been many swarms of locusts in the east part of Africa, which have traveled to Uganda and Tanzania. Locusts are a species of grasshoppers, which can be harmful as they ruins crops, livelihoods, and can cause famine and human migration.

The locusts tend to live in an area in Africa, south of the Sahara and into India. They have recently been spreading into Uganda and Tanzania. According to scientificamerican.com, “The outbreak was initially confined mainly to Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia, but FAO says it’s now tracking 15 countries in Africa, the Middle East and South Asia affected by the locusts. The swarms have appeared in a swath hundreds of miles wide, from South Sudan in the west to parts of Pakistan in the east.”

The locusts were able to invade Kenya because of their fast reproduction. Agriculture.vic.gov shares, “Each female lays pods of about 30 eggs, sometimes laying only one pod per lifetime. However, they can lay up to five pods, with pods laid at five to seven day intervals.” Their fast maturity also played a role in invading as it only takes about 2 weeks for a hopper (young locust) to turn into a locust.

To stop the swarm from advancing, spray planes have been spraying pesticide and according to nationalpost.com, China is sending 100,000 locust-eating ducks to fight them off. People from across the world are trying to stop this locust plague from progressing. Let’s hope they succeed.