Applications of remote sensing to locust management

Locusts are grasshoppers that belong to the Acrididae family, of the Orthoptera order. They constitute one of the biggest threats to global food security. Their swarms can attack hundreds of species of plants and destroy most major crop varieties. Locusts are known to consume the equivalent of their own body weight in green vegetation daily. Besides the enormous distribution ranges, their voracity and polyphagy make locusts extremely dangerous pests. Outbreaks have occurred on every continent except Antarctica and affect 10% of the world's population. Locusts have been the enemies of crops since the dawn of agriculture. They are mentioned in sacred books such as the Torah, the Koran and the Bible. Locust swarms have brought devastation and famine to entire nations. For example, in 1958 in Ethiopia, locusts destroyed 167,000 tonnes of grain, enough to feed 1 million people for a year. Locust plagues continue to be devastating in the 21st Century. In 2003–2005, 8 million people in more than 20 countries suffered from ravages caused by swarms of desert locusts, Schistocerca gregaria, with an estimated 80–100% of crops lost in afflicted regions, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa. (Résumé d'auteur