Simulation of the Movement of a Locust Swarm in Argentina in 2020

This work presents a simulation for the trajectory of a locust swarm of the species Schistocerca cancellata (Audinet-Serville), between May 22nd and July 29th, 2020, in Argentina. To obtain the directions, temperature, and intensities of the wind, used to determine the daily traveled distance of the insects, the data of weather forecast from Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model are used. A statistical analysis shows the effectiveness of the forecast model used in comparison with the real data given by SENASA, which provides latitude and longitude coordinates for the cited period. The results found for the movement of the cloud were satisfactory, they matched with the real data, identifying that temperature and wind speed have a great influence on the movement of locust swarms. The methodology used allows monitoring in real-time their movement, predicting the trajectory and making it possible to plan actions by government control agencies with pesticides in convenient areas.

Infectivity of Paranosema locustae (Microsporidia) against gregarious-phase South American locust (Orthoptera) when treated en masse

En masse inoculations with Paranosema locustae, an intracellular parasite of adipose tissue of grasshoppers and locusts and the only microsporidium registered as a biocontrol agent, were conducted against crowded fourth-instar nymphs of the South American locust Schistocerca cancellata and the grasshoppers Dichroplus schulzi and Ronderosia bergii. Infection did not develop in the locust, but was highly prevalent in the two grasshopper species. We hypothesize that absolute absence of infection in S. cancellata may constitute a case of density-dependent prophylactic resistance, an elevation of the baseline immunity of an organism in order to cope with disease that is prevalent in species exhibiting phase polyphenism.