Jennifer Marohasy

a forum for the discussion of issues concerning the natural environment

Save The Locust . Com

By

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/.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. detribe says

    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.

  2. Thinksy says

    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.

  5. eumong says

    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.

  6. kartiya says

    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 .

  7. Nathan says

    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

  8. Owen says

    I oppose the spaying of insecticide in an attempt to irradicate a species.
    Even assuming that they had the ability to target that one exact species.
    The plague Locust Commision has no idea what effect sucess would have!
    What effect it might have on the rest of the ecosystem.
    However I honestly believe they don’t care.

    They can not target one species, they can not control or even comprehend the effect that their efforts might have.

    This is one of the most irrisponsible abuses of political power that I have witnessed in this country!!!!

    How can our goverment legislate to enforce the use of dangerous chemicals in an attempt to irradicate a native species?
    They have made it a criminal act to protect our environment!!!

    Then they have the hide to excuse theirselves from any liability for the outcome!!

    Farmers are forced to spray!
    Farmers will be forced to kill!
    When it all goes wrong it will be their fault!!!!

    It’s not Brumby’s back yard being sprayed – It’s not his drinking water being poisoned!!
    And he will have retired on a fat parlimentary pension by the time this one comes back to haunt us!!

    If we don’t speak up now how far will it go?