Locust Swarms Head For Melbourne & Adelaide - Reuters

[hatrack]

SYDNEY — Millions of locusts swarmed toward Australia's second biggest city of Melbourne on Thursday, as the insects were also reported near the southern city of Adelaide.

Brought to life in February by drought-breaking rains, billions of locusts first swarmed along a 1,200-km (745-mile) front from southwest Queensland state to the central New South Wales town of Dubbo, across an area twice the size of England.

The move to major cities by the crop-devastating insects widened the battlefront in Australia's three-month effort to contain the swarms. Despite an aerial spraying campaign since February, the locusts have now spread a further 700 km (435 miles) southwest to establish a 5-million-strong swarm north of Melbourne.

EDIT

Numbers in the outback have not been officially estimated but are recognized as the most serious since up to 100 billion locusts swarmed in late 2000. The return of very dry weather to much of New South Wales has driven the locusts to search for more favorable conditions in the south, said McCulloch."

EDIT

http://www.enn.com/news/2004-04-16/s_22898.asp

[the Kelly Gang]

1. wars, plagues, pestilence..and the Devil is amongst us

[LeftCoast]

2. Yep

AKA: George W. Bush

[blindpig]

3. it's natural

typical of dry habitats. It's our unnatural population density and land usage that makes this a potential disaster.

[treepig]

4. can't somebody harvest these critters

and turn them into biodiesel?