https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b7/American_Bird_Grasshopper.jpg/1200px-American_Bird_Grasshopper.jpgnombre de la fuente ## PEST IDENTITY - Scientific name - Schistocerca piceifrons Walker - Taxonomic classification - Family: Acrididae - Genre: Schistocerca - Species: S. piceifrons - Subspecies: Schistocerca piceifrons piceifrons. # ## ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF PLAGUE https://www.efeverde.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files_mf/cache/th_1cce678baa2865fe866ba90e481edd63_1411164-1.jpgSOURCE

Locust has caused damage and invasions for centuries, is considered among the most harmful pests in the world. Its different species devastate year after year hundreds of thousands of hectares cultivated around the world, severely affecting cereals, fruit trees, legumes and pastures. In Central America there are four species of the genus Schistocerca: Schistocerca piceifrons, Schistocerca pallens, Schistocerca nitens and Schistocerca centralis.

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Gregory_Sword/publication/7160920/figure/fig1/AS:281292143906824@1444076681793/Nymphs-of-Schistocerca-gregaria-solitarious-phase-on-the-left-and-gregarious-phase-on.pngSOURCE #

Only the first one has the aptitude to gregarize and be more abundant, which is why it is more harmful for crops. In its feeding it includes several crops and wild vegetation, reason why its danger is when it presents a gregarious behavior and the sleeves are formed, which are constituted by up to 80 million individuals per km2 and can devour up to 100 tons of green food day, generating food losses and economic problems.

# ## HOSTS

Lobster is a polyphagous species. The most attacked crops are: Corn, Rice, Soy, Lemon, Agave, Sesame, Coconut, Sorghum, Tangerine, Cotton, Orange, Sugar cane, Tomato, Oil palm.

https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmbGzzsSbLK9cNeKAFJXJuQjtymXnZsHE2msdXNBkzdNz2/DARJ.pngCROPS THAT INSPIRES THE LOBSTER # ## POPULATION DYNAMICS https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmPvZriyqEKVv1aD7UELD44rfKpXbbJSHQWKCePG761njg/OKUJH.pngSOURCE

The lobsters present two generations per year and undergo phase change (gregarious and solitary) that makes them a potential danger as a pest; they are influenced by meteorological elements such as temperature, precipitation and solar radiation that affect their distribution, rate of growth, reproduction, migration and adaptation.

# http://wpc.72c72.betacdn.net/8072C72/lvi-images/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_1020_560/public/nota_periodistica/langostas_3.jpgSOURCE #

One of the main characteristics of lobsters is that they can present physiological and morphological changes that affect their population behavior, becoming dangerous pests. The elevation in the environmental temperature and an irregular distribution of the precipitations, can catalyze periods of copulation and oviposition, as well as contribute to the grouping (densation), which is the trigger for the gregarization. Gregarization is the mechanism by means of which they change phase. Also, the increase in population densities is influenced by a variety of factors, among others, changes in the use and management of the land, the introduction of new crops, the abandonment of traditional crops and cultivated areas, the lack of monitoring and surveillance and, in some cases, very favorable weather conditions.

# # Damage of Schistocerca piceifrons

The damage is caused by nymphs and adults feeding on crops, fruit trees, pastures and wild species. This is characterized by a total defoliation when the infestations are very severe; only the stems are observed in corn, soybean, sorghum, sugarcane and fruit crops. In fruit trees, in addition to defoliate, eat fruits and bark, the sleeves cause the breaking of branches, when perching on them.

# http://wpc.72c72.betacdn.net/8072C72/lvi-images/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_1020_560/public/nota_periodistica/langostas_3.jpg Lobster in gregarious form # https://www.zafranet.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/cana_langosta_thumb.jpg Lobster bands feeding on sugarcane # https://s3-sa-east-1.amazonaws.com/assets.abc.com.py/2017/06/20/las-langostas-arrasan-con-los-cultivos-de-maiz-en-el-chaco-_720_556_1504776.jpg Defoliated corn leaves and exposure of corn midrib, after high locust infestation # # Biologic control

It is important to know the stage of the plague to apply this measure. The use of entomopathogenic fungi, such as Metarhizum anisopliae var. acridum is used successfully in Mexico for the control of S. piceifrons piceifrons and in North Africa to combat desert locust Schistocerca gregaria and other acrididae, which is a fungus identified as an optional parasite, which has conidia that constitute the infective unit.

# https://agronews.com.ar/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Langostas.jpg SOURCE # # Chemical control

It is the fastest and most effective method to control high populations of lobster, both sides and sleeves. It is recommended as a preventive fight to start in the biological state of nymph, however, lobsters remain in that state only a few weeks and not all can be destroyed, so we must perform control of all biological states

https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmQN2XaUmoEzNWq7Y4kjFWBucMq4JWZxGfxwqqufxU1zZd/Imagen1JHG.png >For more information visit: https://www.gob.mx/cms/uploads/attachment/file/157817/Ficha_t_cnica_langosta.pdf ## If you got here ... Infinite thanks for reading me. # "God bless you and protect you" # https://steemitimages.com/0x0/https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmX1rCtJKeQYWVseoZWwLMKYhhS1xRNCjb5eqbLnHAd3GD/Imagen1FGHJJKLIO.png