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January 28, 2006

Save The Locust . Com

Posted by jennifer, at 02:56 PM

I lived in Madagascar for several years in the late 1980s. They ate locust over there, fried they tasted OK.

A locust is a short-horned grasshopper when it swarms. I always thought a locust swarm was something to fear.

There have been claims that the terrible famine in north west Africa last year could have been prevented if only environmentalists had not prevented aerial spraying with some residual chemicals.

Then this afternoon, after a morning at the beach, I turn on my computer and I have an email from Jim Pashley wishing me a Happy New Year and asking your opinion - as a reader of this blog - on a website run by a group of concerned environmentalists and farmers.

It is all about locusts, but with a twist. The site suggests that contrary to popular perceptions regarding the recent locust plague in New South Wales and Victoria:

For the most part, locusts have ignored irrigated pastures, mature crops and dry feed. The losses that have occurred, contrary to sensational media articles, were largely confined to unseasonal summer green. Spring sown crops are the rarity in this district and are always a gamble, and lucerne (and native pasture) re-growth, brought about by summer rains, is not something that dry-land farmers in our area budget on. From this perspective, the impacts were no more than the other seasonal variations farmers deal with everyyear.

The idea that something as abundant as a species of "plague" locust could become extinct seems impossible; yet this is exactly what has happened to the "plague" locust that used to occur in the USA, and it could also happen here. Already, what was once a one in five year event has been reduced to a one in thirty. The impact of such extinction would be more far-reaching than we realise. Locusts are a natural grazer of our grasslands and a welcome food source to other wildlife. Flocks of over a thousand Ibis, have been observed feasting on un-sprayed bands of locusts. Other native wildlife such as Falcons, Bearded Dragons and Shingle-back Lizards, to name just a few, have all been seen enjoying the feast. The rare Fat-tailed Dunnart has increased its activity since the arrival of the locusts, and even a Bustard (once abundant in Northern Victoria, now virtually extinct), was sighted last summer, in the same season and district that the Locusts swarms occurred. Co-incidence? With wildlife numbers low due to the recent drought: What role might the locust migrations have played in population recovery? And what impact are we having by our interference?

Anyway, they are keen for feedback. The site is here: http://www.savethelocust.com/.

Posted by jennifer at January 28, 2006 02:56 PM

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Comments

Strange, no comments on something so terribly interesting and weird, but lots of comments about the same old same old. I'm lost for words.

Posted by: detribe at January 30, 2006 03:00 PM

Certainly interesting. If you agree that the locust plagues should be encouraged then you'll be branded all manner of greenie insults, I expect. Could establish private property rights over locusts (net and export as foodcrop to China, Africa etc) which would lead to sustainable yields.

Posted by: Thinksy at January 30, 2006 07:46 PM

The Australian Plague Locust Commission has been undertaking operations:

http://www.affa.gov.au/content/output.cfm?ObjectID=D2C48F86-BA1A-11A1-A2200060B0A00412

Might be something on the site for those quick readers.

Posted by: Phil Done at January 30, 2006 10:45 PM

Posted by: mitchell porter at February 1, 2006 12:20 PM

As the author of savethelocust.com I'd firstly like to thank you for posting comments about my site.

The limited response suggests to me that it really is a topic that most people have never thought much about.

I'd like you to consider the following statement. Although I haven't quoted the exact statistics (Feel free to look up the statistics)..

Victoria has had achieved an above average cereal crop harvest despite the devastation caused by the "Worst locust plague in fifty years".

In response to Jennifers comments concerning Locusts and famines in Africa. I would like to direct you to

http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/board/showpost.php?p=53487&postcount=5

The recent broadscale spraying of locusts in Victoria is likely to have caused the extinction of at least one rare animal.

http://www.savethelocust.com/?PageID=froghopper

Thanks for your comments once again. Much appreciated.


Posted by: eumong at February 2, 2006 05:38 PM

JENNIFER ,IT WAS INTERESTING YESTERDAY TO SEE A SMALL HONEY -EATER PULPING A LARGE GREEN GRASS HOPPER ON A LOG JUST A COUPLE OF WEEKS AFTER THE PLAGUE LOCUSTS PASSED BY . MUST HAVE TASTED SWEET!
I AM GLAD I DIDN'T PANIC SPRAY "FIPRONIL" AS JUST ABOUT BIRD SPECIES I SAW, WHEN THE HOPPERS WERE FAIRLY THICK, SEEMED TO BE GORGED ON THEM .
WE HAVE BEEN IN CROPPING AND IRRIGATION COUNTRY HERE FOR 18 YEARS . THIS IS THE FIRST TIME WE HAVE COVERED OUR CAR RADIATOR .
I THINK SOME FORM OF COMPENSATION IS PREFFERED TO BLANKET "INTO YOUR WATER TANK " SPRAYING BY FARMERS, DONE WITH FREE GOVERNMENT SPRAY THAT SEEMS TO TARGET JUST ABOUT EVERY LIVING SPECIES OF INSECT .

Posted by: kartiya at February 7, 2006 05:02 PM

This issue is going to raise its head again as the APLC tries again to drive into extinction the last great animal migration of our great brown land.

Shame really lets hope that we don't drive any more animals to extinction due to our desire to control a natural system.

Here is a quote from Dr Campbell about how safe spraying locusts is and how it doesn't affect native animals. Unfortunately he appears to be a simple agronimist who fails to see system complexity. If bird and insects rely on occasional bounties of locusts to successfully breed and ensure there future then spraying locusts will have a direct impact on there long term survival. Unfortunately DoPI and APLC seems to think that it is only an issue if the spray directly kills the bird/ insect/person that they spray not the food that it relies on to ensure the next generation.

Please Please Speak up and be heard. This is a major issue (imagine if the killed all the krill in the ocean because they ate a crop we grew, DPI would say it was ok because the spray doesn't kill whales, it was the lack of food oops)

Anyway here is the quote from the bendigo advertiser.

DPI scientist and locust specialist Dr Malcolm Campbell said Fenitrothion, like any insecticide, could be deadly to birds and animals at high levels.

But the dosage used, and a range of safety measures including buffer zones, prevented that occurring during locust spraying.

"The Australian Plague Locust Commission has been developing the process of spraying for 30 years - and we don't get bird kills," he said.

Dr Campbell said a range of environmental evaluations that looked at the effect on insects, mammals and birds, had proved the point.

"Essentially we have reduced the risk to zero," he said.

In response to Mr O'Brien's call to save the locusts, Dr Campbell said pests were only present when there was sufficient feed, which meant other wildlife would also have plenty

Posted by: Nathan at August 15, 2008 01:00 PM