Intercontinental Migration Facilitates Continuous Occurrence of the Desert Locust <i>Schistocerca gregaria</i> (Forsk., 1775) in Africa and Asia
Shiqian Feng,
Shuai Shi,
Farman Ullah,
Xueyan Zhang,
Yiting Yin,
Shuang Li,
John Huria Nderitu,
Abid Ali,
Yingying Dong,
Wenjiang Huang,
Gao Hu,
Zehua Zhang,
Xiongbing Tu
Affiliations
Shiqian Feng
State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
Shuai Shi
National Climate Center, Beijing 100081, China
Farman Ullah
State Key Laboratory for Managing Biotic and Chemical Threats to the Quality and Safety of Agro-Products, Institute of Plant Protection and Microbiology, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou 310021, China
Xueyan Zhang
Department of Entomology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
Yiting Yin
State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
Shuang Li
State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
John Huria Nderitu
Department of Plant Science and Crop Protection, University of Nairobi, Kangemi P.O. Box 29053-00625, Kenya
Abid Ali
University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan
Yingying Dong
Key Laboratory of Digital Earth Science, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100094, China
Wenjiang Huang
Key Laboratory of Digital Earth Science, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100094, China
Gao Hu
Department of Entomology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
Zehua Zhang
State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
Xiongbing Tu
State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
The desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria (Forsk., 1775), stands as one of the most pervasive pests globally, inflicting extensive damage across Asia and Africa. Facilitated by intercontinental migration, the desert locust engages in population exchange between different source areas, perpetuating its widespread proliferation. Despite the wind being recognized as a key factor during migration events, elucidating its precise influence on intercontinental migration has remained elusive. In this study, we scrutinized monitoring data sourced from the FAO monitoring system, pinpointing 13 desert locust events featuring intercontinental migrations since 1967. From these events, four migration routes were summarized, traversing the Red Sea (RS-WE and RS-EW) and the northern Indian Ocean (IO-WE and IO-EW). Typically, RS-WE and IO-EW migrations occurred between December and March, whereas RS-EW and IO-WE migrations were observed from May to June and April to July, respectively. Our examination of wind field data spanning the past 15 years revealed that wind direction and speed facilitated intercontinental migrations. Furthermore, migration trajectory modeling indicated that desert locusts might exhibit migratory behavior both during the day and at night in the cases of RS-WE and RS-EW, with cross-oceanic migration potentially lasting for a week for IO-WE and IO-EW. In summary, our study identifies four migration routes for the intercontinental migration of the desert locust, providing crucial support for the scientific prediction of its occurrence and contributing to international food security efforts.
