Editing Migratory locust (section)

===Economic impact===
[[File:Die Gartenlaube (1875) b 585.jpg|thumb|left|Adult female (top), adult male (bottom left), fifth instar nymph (bottom right)]]
Locusts are highly mobile, and usually fly with the wind at a speed of about {{convert|15|to|20|km/h}}. Swarms can travel 5 to 130&nbsp;km or more in a day. Locust swarms can vary from less than one square kilometre to several hundred square kilometres with 40 to 80 million individuals per square kilometre. An adult locust can consume its own weight (several grams) in fresh food per day. For every million locusts, one ton of food is eaten.

In Africa, the last serious widespread plague of ''[[Locusta migratoria migratorioides|L. m. migratorioides]]'' occurred from 1928 to 1942. Since then, environmental transformations have made the development of swarms from the African migratory locust unlikely. Nevertheless, potential outbreaks are constantly monitored as plagues can be devastating.
The Malagasy migratory locust (''L. m. capito'') still regularly swarms (roughly twice every ten years). The [[desert locust]], which is very similar to the African migratory locust, remains a major threat too.

Locust survey and control are primarily the responsibility of the Ministry of Agriculture in locust-affected countries and are operations undertaken by national locust units. The [[Food and Agriculture Organization]] (FAO) of the [[United Nations]] provides information on the general locust situation to all interested countries and gives warnings and forecasts to those countries in danger of invasion.