Abstract
Plagues of locust possibly date back to before humanity, as they evolved before humans. Following the Neolithic revolution and the permanent settlement of humans in Mesopotamia, locusts and grasshoppers have become a serious problem for people, as imprinted on archaeological remains. In the Near East, desert locust may be an important problem during invasion periods, in addition to various local species of locusts and grasshoppers. Past plagues caused serious disasters in the region, but there has been a pause since the 1960s, thanks to more effective monitoring and control. However, global warming and other anthropogenic activities change ecosystems, and these increase the potential for locust outbreaks, upsurges and plagues for the region. Outbreaks of some local species could also be a serious problem. Pest species of the locust and grasshopper of the Near East mainly belong to Caelifera and some to Ensifera. Global warming and extended agricultural activities can increase the potential for outbreaks of local species and create suitable conditions for desert locust invasions. This review is an attempt to (i) provide a historical background for locust invasions/outbreaks in the Near East, (ii) assess the potential for outbreaking of local species and (iii) define a perspective for future actions regarding global changes.
Highlights
The origin of the desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria Forskål, dates back to around eight million years ago [1], but that of humans as the genus Homo to date back to 2.5 million years and modern human Homo sapiens to about 200 thousand years [2]
As desert locust and Homo sapiens are both native to Africa, we can speculate that modern humans evolved under the selection pressures of the disasters caused by the desert locust plagues
For S. gregaria, the Near East does not include any outbreak area and remains just on the margins of the invasion area, societies living in this region have had to endure tremendous suffering and have paid hundred thousand lives
Summary
The origin of the desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria Forskål, dates back to around eight million years ago [1], but that of humans as the genus Homo to date back to 2.5 million years and modern human Homo sapiens to about 200 thousand years [2]. Comparing to North Africa and Southern part of the Arabian Peninsula, the locust and grasshopper problem in the Near East has other peculiarities, and requires a separate evaluation In this region, the desert locust plagues have been relatively rare. The new period is mainly characterized by publications of historians [21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32], dealing with locust invasions of the first half of the 20th century They combine information from archives of governments and old newspapers and provide a significant amount of knowledge about the history of locust invasions in the Near East. Damage to agriculture by other species such as Calliptamus italicus (Linnaeus) (or other species of the genus), Gryllus campestris Linnaeus, Platycleis intermedia (Serville), Platycleis affinis Fieber and H. pterosthica are negligible [14,16,29]
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