The brown locust (''Locustana pardalina'') is a medium-sized small

locust Locusts (derived from the Vulgar Latin ''locusta'', meaning grasshopper) are various species of short-horned grasshoppers in the family Acrididae that have a swarming phase. These insects are usually solitary, but under certain circumstanc ...

species in the

monotypic genus In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

''Locustana''. It is found in

Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number of ...

and shows classic

gregarious behaviour Sociality is the degree to which individuals in an animal population tend to associate in social groups (gregariousness) and form cooperative societies. Sociality is a survival response to evolutionary pressures. For example, when a mother wasp ...

with phase polymorphism on crowding.

Biology

Control

Hopper band outbreaks are frequent in the

Karoo The Karoo ( ; from the Afrikaans borrowing of the South Khoekhoe !Orakobab or Khoemana word ''ǃ’Aukarob'' "Hardveld") is a semi-desert natural region of South Africa. No exact definition of what constitutes the Karoo is available, so its ext ...

and are controlled by farmers with

insecticide Insecticides are substances used to kill insects. They include ovicides and larvicides used against insect eggs and larvae, respectively. Insecticides are used in agriculture, medicine, industry and by consumers. Insecticides are claimed to b ...

spray operations: usually

deltamethrin Deltamethrin is a pyrethroid ester insecticide. Deltamethrin plays a key role in controlling malaria vectors, and is used in the manufacture of long-lasting insecticidal mosquito nets; however, resistance of mosquitos and bed bugs to deltamethrin ...

with motorised mistblowers set for

ultra-low volume Ultra-low volume (ULV) application of pesticides has been defined as spraying at Volume Application Rate(VAR) of less than 5 L/ha for field crops or less than 50 L/ha for tree/bush crops. VARs of 0.25 – 2 L/ha are typical for aerial ULV appl ...

application (subsidised by the government). Because of the environmental sensitivity of the Karoo

biome A biome () is a biogeographical unit consisting of a biological community that has formed in response to the physical environment in which they are found and a shared regional climate. Biomes may span more than one continent. Biome is a broader ...

and concerns about toxicity to grazing sheep, a

biological pesticide A Biopesticide is a biological substance or organism that damages, kills, or repels organisms seens as pests. Biological pest management intervention involves predatory, parasitic, or chemical relationships. They are obtained from organisms inclu ...

product called 'Green Muscle', based on the

entomopathogenic fungus An entomopathogenic fungus is a fungus that can kill or seriously disable insects. Typical life cycle These fungi usually attach to the external body surface of insects in the form of microscopic spores (usually asexual, mitosporic spores also ...

(''

Metarhizium acridum ''Metarhizium acridum'' is the new name given to a group of fungal isolates that are known to be virulent and specific to the Acrididea (grasshoppers). Previously, this species has had variety status in ''Metarhizium anisopliae'' (var. ''acridu ...

''), was tested by the

LUBILOSA LUBILOSA was the name of a research programme that aimed at developing a biological alternative to the chemical control of locusts. This name is an acronym of the French title of the programme: Lutte Biologique contre les Locustes et les Sauter ...

Programme in collaboration with the South African Plant Protection Institute: using novel application technique to compensate for the slow speed of kill.Price, R.E., Bateman, R.P., Brown, H.D., Butler, E.T. and Müller, E.J. (1997) Aerial spray trials against brown locust (''Locustana pardalina'', Walker) nymphs in South Africa using oil-based formulations of ''Metarhizium flavoviride''. Crop Protection, 16, 345-351

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown Locust Locusts Orthoptera of Africa Insects described in 1870 Agricultural pest insects Monotypic Orthoptera genera