And Now, Something Different For Australia - A Plague Of Locusts

[hatrack]

SYDNEY — A massive outbreak of crop-eating locusts has been triggered by heavy rains that broke the worst Australian drought in a century to generate record crops and flood parts of the outback. It is the worst outbreak since up to 100 billion of the pests were spawned in December 2000. "We're talking mega-numbers here.... You'd just be speculating (on exact numbers)," said Walter Spratt, operations manager for the Australian Plague Locust Commission.
Australia's big wheat, barley, and canola crops have just been harvested and are safe in silos around the country, but locusts are breeding near sorghum and cotton crops.

Locust fighters are spraying targeted areas of more than 1,000 square km (386 square miles) in southwest Queensland state, where the worst outbreak has occurred, and parts of northwest New South Wales state. Aerial bombardment of the "hoppers" so far has been a losing battle, with new swarms discovered over far-flung inland areas.

EDIT

Surveys before and after drought-breaking January rain showed clearly that the deluge which flushed Australia's sluggish rivers back to life also triggered the locust outbreak, Spratt said, adding that breeding conditions were now ideal.

The first locust generation came 10 days after the rain. Adult locusts have followed up with three, four, or five layings of 30 to 50 eggs each. "The more we look, the more we find," Spratt said."

EDIT

http://www.enn.com/news/20-02-2004/s_13304.asp

[Jim Sagle]

1. Payback for Mel Gibson?

:shrug:

[4morewars]

2. The End Is Near !!!!

just kidding

[phoebe]

3. This is extremely bad news. You're looking at losses of thousands

of acres of grazing land for sheep as well as for other vital crops. Means possible slaughter of millions of sheep, leading to burning pyres, soil and air pollution, more chemical sprayings, not to mention wildlife losing acres of food and the certain extinction of several species.

This scenario means a huge loss in GDP for the continent as well as job losses, high costs of imports and all that this implies. All in all a very scary situation for which I wish Australia well.

edited for grammar

[blindpig]

4. on the other hand

if you're a member of Australia's magnificant fauna it's a bonanza! Lizards, bats & birds will pig out, as will the critters that feed upon them. locust outbreaks are a natural occurance in semi-arid regions, a typical boom & bust cycle. Perhaps Australia is unsuitable for long term exploitation(as is the american west.)

[smirkymonkey]

5. Isn't there something about locusts

and the end of the world?? I thought I read it somewhere? Maybe I just dreamt it or something.

Not that I believe it's the end of the world in Biblical terms, but it seems like the earth's delicate natural balance is becoming more and more out of whack.