What are the natural enemies and species of locusts?

When talking about locusts, everyone must think of pests, but in recent years, locusts have become a delicacy on people's dining tables, and many rural areas have launched locust farming projects. So, what are the natural enemies of locusts? What species of locusts are there? Let's find out together!

1. What are the natural enemies of locusts?

1. Frogs

Almost all frogs are natural enemies of locusts. Frogs and locusts live in the same type of ecological environment. Low-lying areas with reeds and weeds, ponds, ditches and other places are all good habitats for them. A single frog can eliminate more than 10,000 pests in one summer. A single rice field frog eats an average of 50 pests per day, with the maximum reaching 266. So as long as a large number of frogs exist, the number of locusts will be greatly reduced.

2. Birds

Birds that eat locusts include the Oriental pratincole, white-winged black tern, and wren-warbler, among which the Oriental pratincole is the most notable. Birds that eat locusts need to prey on large numbers of locusts during the nestling stage. Taking the common swallow as an example, a pair of parent birds and a nest of chicks can eat more than 16,200 locusts per month.

3. Lizards

Lizards are commonly known as four-legged snakes, snake's aunt, and so on. They are distributed all over the world, mostly in tropical and subtropical regions. Their living environments are diverse, mainly terrestrial, but some are arboreal, semi-aquatic, or burrow in the soil. Most feed on insects, and a few species also eat plants. They mainly prey on locusts in spring and summer.

4. Spiders

Spiders are widely distributed and mostly feed on insects, other spiders, and myriapods. For spiders, a locust that bumps into their trap is a fine meal. Most spiders are capable of preying on locusts.

2. What species of locusts are there?

1. Rice locust

The rice locust has a body length of 21-31 mm for females and 26-39 mm for males. Its back is grayish-brown, and its abdomen and legs are green. It is a very common locust among grasses in flatlands and low-altitude areas. Adults can be seen almost everywhere except in winter. They mainly feed on the leaves of grasses (Poaceae), and in the early period they were a major pest of rice cultivation.

2. East Asian migratory locust

The East Asian migratory locust belongs to the order Orthoptera, family Acrididae, class Insecta. It grows under natural temperature conditions and has two generations per year. The first generation is called the summer locust, and the second is the autumn locust. Artificial breeding can transform it into four generations per year. Its natural enemies include spiders, birds, frogs, and praying mantises. Locusts currently bred artificially are basically all East Asian migratory locusts.

3. Red-backed grasshopper

The red-backed grasshopper is an insect of the order Orthoptera, family Pyrgomorphidae. Its body length is 20-25 mm for males and 34-42 mm for females. Its body color is pure green or brown. The red-backed grasshopper has a long, pointed head, and there are small white protrusions on the head, thorax, and legs. It is the most common grasshopper in China. Adults can be seen year-round and live among grasses at forest edges from flatlands to mid-altitude mountainous areas.

4. Taiwan, China giant locust

The Taiwan, China giant locust is different from the East Asian migratory locust. It is the largest among the locusts of Taiwan, China, and females can reach 8 or 9 cm in body length. Its most notable feature is its very well-developed hind legs, suitable for long-distance jumping. It is widely distributed. Adults mainly appear in autumn, while in the south they can be seen in winter and even in spring of the following year.

5. Desert locust

The desert locust is distributed in North Africa, East Africa, and South Africa. It is extremely destructive. Wherever it flies, the area becomes barren. Several major locust plagues in African history were caused by this kind of locust.

The above is the editor's summary of the natural enemies and species of locusts. I hope it can help you!