Strong winds carry migratory locusts to Finland from Russia

Thousands of locusts may have arrived, but no outbreak of a plague is expected to occur

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In addition to smoke, the Russian forest fires have also brought to Finland rare flying visitors. Around 20 large migratory locusts (Locusta migratoria) have been discovered in Finland. The species usually lives in the southern and central parts of European Russia.
     
”The area has been suffering from unprecedented drought, which is why the insects have obviously run out of food”, estimates Jaakko Kullberg, the Collection Manager of the Finnish Museum of Natural History, functioning under the University of Helsinki.
      In addition, the number of locusts in the area of departure was huge.
      ”If the crowd is too big, some locusts develop into a special migrant species according to the theory of biological automatism”, Kullberg notes.
     
The migratory locust differs clearly from the other common locusts. It is greyish brown, while the other locusts that are not migratory have a colourful covering.
      The wings of the migratory locust are longer than those of the other locusts, while its flight muscles are stronger. Migratory locusts can travel thousands of kilometres.
     
The length of the migratory locust can be up to eight centimetres, while its wingspan can be more than ten centimetres.
      ”In Russia, the migratory locust is regarded as a pest, and large swarms can cause damage locally”, Kullberg notes.
      Here in the north, locusts have never appeared in such large numbers that they would have become a nuisance, Kullberg says.
     
”We have now recorded observations of about twenty or so individuals, which means that thousands of migratory locusts must have arrived in Finland”, Kullberg continues.
      Locust observations have been made from South Savo and South Karelia to Uusimaa and the rocky islets of the outer archipelago.
      ”A couple of nights ago, a migratory locust was spotted for example at the Three Smiths Statue in downtown Helsinki”, Kullberg adds.
     
Observations of the migratory locust can be recorded in the online observation diary kept by the Finnish Museum of Natural History on www.hatikka.fi. The form is in Finnish.


Links:
  Migratory locust (Wikipedia)
  Finnish Museum of Natural History

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