After the invasion of Egyptian locusts in the Kushuhum community of the Zaporizhzhia region, the area is facing a new wave - now it is being attacked by migratory locusts, which are being widely reported on social media. Pests are also being observed in Dnipropetrovsk region. Despite the losses for the harvest, specialists reassure: this is not an anomaly, but a completely natural phenomenon. An entomologist, Candidate of Biological Sciences, and Associate Professor of the Department of Zoology and Ecology at DNU named after O. Honchar, Viktor Brihadirenko, explained this in a comment to Glavkom.
According to Brihadirenko, the mass reproduction of migratory locusts (lat. Locusta migratoria) this year was the result of a combination of several factors: there were no spring floods that usually wash away insect eggs; there were no natural enemies, in particular, parasitic beetles.
Like a horror movie. Residents of Zaporizhzhia are massively noticing locusts right on the trees next to their homes pic.twitter.com/QKTYigDAky
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He explained: the situation is serious, but not extraordinary. The migratory locust is a typical inhabitant of the steppe zone, in particular, the territory of Ukraine.
The entomologist emphasizes: the population can dramatically increase - the mass of one individual can grow hundreds of times in a short period - and migrate further. The problem lies not in the nature of the locusts themselves, but in the lack of proper monitoring and preventive actions.
In his opinion, without constant state scientific monitoring, similar situations will keep occurring: 'Grabbing your head once a year is not state thinking. If there is no control over the population of parasites, there will be locusts. It's that simple,' Brihadirenko summed up.
Ukraine is facing migratory locusts in the east of the country. The entomologist explained that this is a natural phenomenon, but the increase in the population of insects is caused by a number of factors that require attention and proper control from authorities and scientists.