The locust plague and its suppression / by Æneas Munro.

  • Munro, Aeneas.
Date:
[1899]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The locust plague and its suppression / by Æneas Munro. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    39/388 page 15
    44. The locust an African.—Which part is their native or original home is a matter shrouded in doubt and obscurity. It is really impos- sible to say upon which of the two hemispheres one can localise their primary or native home; perhaps the balance lies in favour of the African home. Midway between the two hemispheres they have been met with by passing vessels while crossing the Atlantic more than 1200 miles from land. Those who have made themselves therefore acquainted with their great vitality and power to overcome all obstacles in their way will not be altogether surprised or unprepared to know of their undertak- ing an aerial journey so extended as that from one hemisphere to another. 45. The locust abroad.—Our non-acquaintance with them in their permanent homes renders it impossible for us to acquire accurate knowledge of their habits or their customs in everyday life, as we may term it. We only know them when they migrate from home, that is, considerably over 1000 miles from their real habitats, and it may be even two or three times that distance. From the nature of their move- ments we are limited in our field of observation. How they conduct themselves in their own country at home may not be exactly the same as they do abroad. They may be on their best behaviour at home, but certainly we could dispense with their devouring and devastating manners and appetites when they leave their own regions to visit us. 46. Science at fault.—Clearly, therefore, there are things which we do not yet know about the insect or its habits. Thus we do not know what precise influences, if in quest of food, cause them to migrate from their permanent habitations, such as we observe when bees swarm; nor do we know the exact length of life of a locust or its breeding power. We do not know the exact or precise locality in this or any other country which may be defined as their permanent abode; e.g., here in South Africa, they are supposed to come from the waste arid lands in the “ centre ” of the great Sahara Desert—far far north, beyond the Kalahari Desert; in the United States of North America, from the arid waste lands adjacent to the Rocky Mountains; in South America, from the waste lands in the west of Brazil or in Bolivia. There is a story on some hearsay evidence in respect of the abode of the locusts around some lakes in the latter country, where they breed and go from hence in clouds periodically. These lakes are situated in the centre of a valley 120 miles long in Bolivia, and they are called Laguna Mosquera (because the banks, as the name indicates, are infested with flies), the Laguna Limon, and the Laguna Langunilla. As the last name indicates, it is on the banks of this lake that the locusts are found and where they breed. So that it is asserted if the locust could be destroyed here on the borders of this lake, where they winter and perhaps breed, they could be exterminated from the whole of South America.
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