iVlAY Z2 1897 

 Vol. III. 1 I No. 2, 



THE LOCUST INVASION OF i8cS9— 92. 



In the early part of 1891 a report was issued on the subject of the 

 p migratory locust Acridium j3eregrinum Oliv. 



which has receutly invaded India. This re- 

 port g-ave a summavv o£ the inf<UTnation obtained up to the beg-inning' of 

 December 1890. The notes since collected on the subject of the inva- 

 sion of Northern Africa, Persia and. Turkish Ai'abia by the same insect, 

 appeared in Vol. Ill, No. 1, of these Notes, where details are also g-iven 

 of what has been ascertained on the subject of the parasites and natural 

 enemies which attack it in India. In the present report it is proposed 

 to g-ive a short sketch of the g-eneral features of the invasion in India, 

 tog-ether with such fresii information as has been obtained on the subject 

 of the habits of the insect and the methods adopted for dealing with it. 

 The locusts were first noticed in June 1889, when flig-hts were reported 

 The history of the invasion in ffom Sind and Western Hajputana. These 

 ^"<^^'^- flig-hts no doubt orii^inated in the sand-hills 



of the desert, where the insect is said to breed each yeiir in larg-er or 

 smaller numbers. They beg-au laying- their eg-gs as usual in June, when 

 the rains of the south-west monsoon broke. During^ the remainder of 

 the rainy season of 1889 the flights gradually spread throughout Eastern 

 Rajputana, the Punjab, and Sind, egg-laying going on at intervals in 

 various parts of Enjputana and the Punjab, The young locusts which 

 were boi-n from the eggs laid in the beginning of the rains, acquired 

 wings towards ihe latter part or August. In the beginning of the cold 

 weather, owing to the extensive breeding which bad taken place, the 

 locusts seem to have become very numerous in Rajputana and the 

 Punjab, and in November and December flights from these areas found 

 their way throughout the North- West Provinces and Central India, and 

 penetrated even as faras the Vizagapatam, Kistnaand Godavari District* 

 in the Madras Presidency. They were also reported from British 

 "Baluchistan. During January and February 1890 stray Eights were 

 reported from various parts of India, bnt Die cold seems to have told' 

 upon them, and they were not very active. As the hot weather of 1890 

 approached, however, and the soil, moistened by the winter rain, began 

 to grow warm, the locusts again became active and commenced egg- 

 laying. Eggs were laved throughout the north-western districts of 

 the Punjab in March ; also in the Shikarpur District of Sind in April. 

 By June the young locusts hatched from these eggs had acquired wings, 

 and the flights spread in all directions. They penetrated throughout the 



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