jameslitsinger.files.wordpress.com€¦  · Web viewKeywords: one desert locust swarm (Schistocerca gregaria) covering 6 x 5 km in area flew up to 720 m above the ground, and contained

Introduction. Pages 1-4. In: R. C. Rainey. 1989. Migration and Meteorology. Flight behavior and the atmospheric environment of locusts and other migrant pests. Oxford, UK, Clarendon Press, 314 pages.

Keywords: one desert locust swarm (Schistocerca gregaria) covering 6 x 5 km in area flew up to 720 m above the ground, and contained 109 individuals weighting 2000-3000 tons, the locusts exhibited a remarkable degree of uniformity in orientation, flying at right angles to the direction of the wind moving around 20 km per hour, they saved energy by gliding in thermal air currents, they can fly up to 100 km per day, the African armyworm Spodoptera exempta can achieve similar feats and their migration behavior mirrors that of the desert locust