Australian plague locust

The Australian plague locust (Chortoicetes terminifera) belongs to the order Orthoptera and the family Acrididae. It is one of the most significant agricultural pests in Australia, notorious for its ability to form dense, migratory swarms that can travel vast distances.

This pest is highly polyphagous, attacking a wide range of crops including wheat, barley, sorghum, pasture grasses, and various vegetable crops. Seedlings are particularly vulnerable, and even mature crops can suffer significant yield loss or total destruction when swarms descend on fields.

The lifecycle of the locust consists of the egg stage, five nymphal instars, and the adult stage. Eggs are laid in the soil in clusters. The rate of development and hatching is heavily dependent on soil moisture and temperature, with successful egg survival often leading to rapid population explosions following rainfall.

The damage caused by these insects is characterized by extensive defoliation and tissue destruction. As they move through a field, they strip vegetation down to the bare soil. In addition to the direct consumption of plant material, swarms cause indirect losses through the contamination of crops with feces and the potential for disease transmission.

Effective management requires a combination of monitoring and intervention strategies. The primary approach involves locating and treating high-density nymph populations with insecticides before they reach the adult flight stage. Integrated pest management (IPM) practices, including the use of pheromones and biological control agents, are also critical for long-term population suppression.