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Swarms of locusts have plagued humans since the advent of agriculture.

Pesticides and other methods have controlled their spread and ability to swarm and destroy crops in the last hundred years or so. That said, if left unchecked, they still can cause biblical havoc on crops - just ask farmers in southern Russia.

This week tens of thousands of locusts swarmed the Russian village Achikulak in Stavropol krai and destroyed local agriculture. The swarm was caught on video (see below).


The locust infestation began in late July and have spread to an area of 90,000 hectares, causing a state of emergency in several regions.

Locust swarms occur when there is a drought followed by rapid vegetation growth. The changes cause the insects to breed like crazy and then they set out on a path of destruction, moving in bands that are at first wingless and then morph into winged devils, consuming anything and everything in their path.