Russia is facing its worst locust invasions of the last three decades. Millions upon millions of them are devastating some 800.000 hectares of land in southern Russia. They are reportedly measuring around 8cm each.
Around 10% of the crops have been destroyed, and more are expected to become locust food, as authorities are desperately trying to stop the invasion. The heat is limiting the effectiveness of the pesticides, so this will also be a problem.
Apparently, they are moving very fast. Their huge numbers mean that they finish-off crops quickly and move on with their search for food. Authorities are finding them difficult to keep up with.
In Kalmikya, Astrakhan, Volgograd, and Dagestan, there is already no food left for the locusts, so they have moved on to other sources of food […] They have wingspans of nearly 12 centimeters, like small sparrows – Tatiana Drishcheva, Russia Agricultural Center
Octavian Cătuşanu
Sursa foto: tribune.com.pk