• FAO says an increase in the swarms is likely to continue until June, cites favourable ecological conditions for breeding.
• Swarms in some of the affected counties were yellow, meaning they are ready to lay eggs.
Image: Courtesy
Desert locusts have now moved to the ninth county, an expert has confirmed. Baringo is their latest stop and it is reported that they have started breeding.
By last week, the locust invasion had been reported in Mandera, Wajir, Marsabit, Garissa, Isiolo, Samburu, Meru and Laikipia counties.
The locust swarms that moved Somalia into Kenya on December 28 through El Wak in Mandera were immature, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation, but an increase due to favourable ecological conditions for breeding is likely to continue until around June.
Dr David Phiri, FAO Subregional Coordinator for the Eastern said the weather seems favourable for the locusts to breed probably until March-April, if not longer.
“The locust is making the bad food security situation worse in the subregion, exacerbating the existing dire food insecurity and malnutrition,” warned Phiri, who is also the representative of the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.
Dr Muo Kasina, the chairman of the Entomological Society of Kenya, explained that the locust swarms in some of the affected counties were pink, meaning they are mature adults but not ready to lay eggs.
"But they have started turning yellow, which means they are ready to mate and lay eggs. The government now needs to create awareness to farmers on how to identify and control the locusts accordingly," Mua said.
Egg-laying could be imminent in open areas of sandy moist soil where eggs would hatch after about two weeks and give rise to numerous hopper bands in February.
The UN food agency indicated that this is the worst situation in 25 years and unusual weather and climate conditions have contributed to it, including heavy and widespread rains since October last year.
The desert locust situation update released by FAO on January 13 showed that there has been a significant and extremely dangerous increase in swarm activity in Kenya during the past week.
“Numerous, large immature swarms are spreading from the initial invasion areas in northeast Mandera, south of Wajir and Garissa, west along the Ethiopia border of Moyale in Marsabit county and southwest into central areas north of Mt Kenya in Isiolo, Samburu, Meru and most recently Laikipia counties,” the report read.
“One immature swarm was 60km long by 40km wide in the northeast. More swarms are expected to occur in these areas, some of which are already moving north of Mt Kenya westwards to the Rift Valley in Baringo county where they could continue northwest to Turkana county, while some swarms could move further south to Tana River county. Some swarms may reach Northeast Uganda and Southeast South Sudan.”
Image: Courtesy
Image: Courtesy
Image: Courtesy
• An infertile adult desert locust is pink, which means it is mature but not ready to lay eggs, while a fertile adult locust is yellow?
• A desert locust living in solitary is brown.
• Other grasshoppers are green and do not migrate or move in swarms like the desert locusts which move in two to four kilometres of swarms for ordinary breeds.