Locust swarms in Point not so bad

Residents of Salazar Trace and then Striker’s Village last week reported thousands of locusts have swarmed their area over the last six weeks. The locusts - which look like four-inch long, armoured grasshoppers with striped underbellies and redtipped wings - were said to have destroyed farmers crops, razed trees of their leaves, and some residents even claimed to have been attacked by them.

However, director of the Ministry of Agriculture’s South Regional Office, Raffick Ali, last Friday said the ministry’s investigations revealed it is “not a bad situation at all.” Ali said contrary to reports of thousands, the locusts numbered a few hundred. The species harassing Point Fortin are referred to as the “Cedros” locusts, one of two locust species found in the southern peninsula. The second is the “Moruga” locust, and it is much smaller and more akin to a grasshopper.

Ali said the Ministry of Agriculture has since sprayed the affected areas with insecticides adding this was part of an on-going locust spraying programme that they administer each year. “It is a pattern and we know when it starts and when we have to be on alert...These are old problems.” Ali said they spray the insects themselves and also soak the soil beds where they lay eggs to kill the eggs and the adults.

Point Fortin Mayor Clyde Paul was also unfazed. “We always have this in the area,” said the mayor told Sunday Newsday. “It is a seasonal thing that we deal with, not every year, but every other year or so.” The mayor said the public nuisance was in the hands of the Ministry of Agriculture and confirmed the ministry conducted spraying exercises on Friday.

The locusts appear seasonally each year. They leave the forest and swarm to different areas in order to feed. The severity of their numbers depends in large part on environmental conditions, according to Ali. Regarding reports that residents have been bitten by the locusts, Ali said locusts are not known to attack fleshy things because they are herbivores.

Though residents consider the locusts pests, there is at least one creature that has celebrated its appearance. According to nature photographer, David Huggins, the Plumbeous Kite, a raptor that usually eats forest cicadas, has been feasting on the larger Cedros locusts since they appeared.