As for the culprit of the locust plague, how did the Chinese Academy of Sciences team find out?

Recently, the team of the Chinese Academy of Sciences successfully revealed the culprit of the locust plague. It is reported that the team of academician Kang Le of the Institute of Zoology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences discovered a locust swarm pheromone molecule, revealing the mystery of locust swarming. The results were recently published in the international academic journal Nature.

By analysing the body surface and fecal volatiles of social and dispersed locusts, the team identified 4-vinylanisole (4VA), an odor specific to the volatile locusts of social locusts, among 35 compounds. On August 13, the Chinese Academy of Sciences held a special press conference on this achievement in Beijing. Academician Kang Le said that the team's latest research for the first time comprehensively and fully identified and verified the locust swarm pheromones from multiple levels such as chemical analysis, behavioral verification, neuroelectrophysiological recording, olfactory receptor identification, gene knockout and field validation, and found and established that 4VA is a locust swarm pheromone.

Moreover, this is the first time that 4VA has been discovered not only in the insect kingdom, but also in the animal kingdom.

"Through a series of behavioral experiments, we determined that the compound has a strong attraction to different developmental stages and sexes of social and dispersed locusts, and is able to respond to changes in locust population density, increasing as population density increases," Kang Le said. "Through experiments, the researchers demonstrated that 4VA has a strong attraction for laboratory populations outdoors.

Large-scale block experiments have also demonstrated that the compound not only attracts wild populations, but is also not affected by the background density of locusts in the natural environment.

The locust infestation has always been a source of helplessness, and the Yellow Ridge Bamboo Locust is a locust that damages crops such as bamboo, plantain and, to a lesser extent, corn. As of July 25, the area of Yellow Ridge bamboo locusts in Yunnan Province was 140623 mu, and the National Forestry and Grassland Administration and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs have set up a work guidance group to rush to Jiangcheng County, Pu'er County, Yunnan Province, where the locusts mainly occur, to take joint control measures with the local people.

For a long time, locust plague control has relied mainly on large-scale spraying of chemical pesticides. "This study not only reveals the mystery of locust colony, but also changes people's concepts and methods of fighting locust plagues in many aspects, making green and sustainable locust prevention and control possible," said Academician Kang. ”

The report of finding more than 100,000 acres of locust plague is gone, as if it has disappeared out of thin air, at the beginning experts said that it can be prevented and controlled, and it is still preventable and controllable to more than 100,000 acres!

After 10 years of research, the Chinese Academy of Sciences team based on behavioral patterns, neuroelectrophysiological identification, gene knockout, field validation, and chemical analysis. It was concluded that the locust plague was a pheromone effect.

A comprehensive analysis of locust plagues was carried out from multiple levels, such as chemical analysis, behavioral verification, neuroelectrophysiological recording, olfactory receptor identification, gene knockout, and field validation.

The Chinese Academy of Sciences team is based on the living habits of locusts. The social and ** types, a chemical was detected through their feces.

The recreation team of the Chinese Academy of Sciences identified odor-4-vinylanisole, which is specifically volatilized by social locusts, in 35 compounds by analyzing the body surface and fecal volatiles of social and scattered locusts. Through experiments, the researchers demonstrated that 4-vinylanisole has a strong attraction to laboratory populations outdoors, and large-scale block experiments have also demonstrated that the compound not only attracts wild populations, but is also not affected by locust density in the natural environment.

The locust plague in China is as follows: From an environmental point of view, it is mainly caused by drought.

From the point of view of its living habits, it is mainly as follows:

1) It has a habit of living in groups.

2) It has strong fecundity.

3) It is polyphagous, that is, it can eat many kinds of plants.

4) It has a strong ability to fly and is difficult to control.

5) Its eggs are hidden deep in the ground and are difficult to destroy.

Causes: Locust plague is easy to flood after warm winter, global warming, especially the rise of winter temperature, is conducive to the increase of locust overwintering eggs, providing "eggs" for the outbreak of locust plague in the second year; In addition, the combination of climate warming, increased drought, grassland degradation and other factors will provide suitable breeding grounds for locusts to lay eggs, and locusts have a strong ability to adapt to drought, because other insects and birds cannot survive in this situation, and a filamentous fungus that can cause locust disease is suppressed, so its number has increased significantly. Therefore, experts**, with the trend of global warming, the scale of locust plagues will become larger and larger in the future, which will have a serious impact on China's food production.

From the distribution of locust temples, we can see the geographical characteristics of locust plagues in Chinese history.

Now there are 4,000 trillion locusts in China. If the locust plague is not brought under control by June, the locust population will multiply by a factor of 1 million.