Swarms & Infestations
A single square kilometer of locust swarm can hold tens of millions of insects
Desert locust swarms can stretch across huge areas, travel long distances in a day, and consume crops at a scale that turns an insect outbreak into a regional emergency.
Video: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Embedded from the original YouTube source.
The mechanism
Why this happens
Rainfall and favorable habitat can trigger rapid breeding, crowding, and behavioral changes that transform normally solitary locusts into highly mobile swarms.
Season & place
Where this event happens
Africa, the Near East, and Southwest Asia · Migratory pest swarm. Timing and local conditions can vary from one occurrence to the next, so current local guidance matters when planning around a recurring event.
A desert locust swarm is not just a cloud of bugs. At full scale, it can become a moving biological front that crosses borders, darkens the sky, and strips vegetation from agricultural areas.
FAO's monitoring system exists because locust populations can multiply rapidly when environmental conditions line up. Crowding changes their behavior and turns scattered insects into coordinated migratory swarms.
What to know
- Desert locusts can switch between solitary and gregarious behavior.
- Large swarms can travel roughly 130 to 150 kilometers or more in a day.
- The biggest risk is agricultural and food-security damage rather than direct harm to people.
If you go
Watch without becoming part of the problem.
Follow local closures and wildlife guidance, keep a responsible distance, avoid blocking migration or access routes, and do not disturb roosts, nesting areas, dens, or concentrated animals for a photo. Conditions and access rules can change quickly.
Good questions
What people usually want to know
How many locusts are in a swarm?
FAO says a square kilometer of desert locust swarm can contain roughly 40 million to 80 million adults.
How far can a locust swarm travel in a day?
Desert locust swarms can commonly travel around 130 to 150 kilometers or more in a day with favorable winds.