California Braces for a Plague of Locusts

 When people hear of locusts, they think of the Bible.  Swarms of these bugs by the millions can literally turn the sky dark and decimate every green thing before they move on to the next feeding ground.

But we always think of them happening in some far-away place in Africa...certainly they can't come to America?  Right??

California and other states across the south-west are suffering a historic drought which is bringing with it all of the obvious hardships as well as a few that are unexpected. For the Biblically minded, these natural phenomena are undoubtedly divinely inspired messages.

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, the current dry spell is already outpacing the state’s devastating 2012-16 drought. Last month, Gov. Gavin Newsom expanded a drought emergency to 41 California counties, covering 30% of the state’s population.  To compound the problem, a heatwave swept across Southern California this month, breaking several records and heating Palm Springs to 123 degrees.

Associated Press reported last week that federal agriculture officials are launching what could become their largest grasshopper-killing campaign since the 1980s amid an outbreak of the hoppers. Grasshoppers thrive in warm, dry weather, and populations already were up last year. A 2020 survey found dense concentrations of adult grasshoppers across about 55,000 square miles in the Western US. This meant at least 15 insects per square yard in large areas of Montana, Wyoming and Oregon and portions of Idaho, Arizona, Colorado and Nebraska.

So another warm dry season this year bumped the population even more. Dry weather protects locust eggs from parasites that require moisture. The Department of Agriculture began aerial spraying of the pesticide diflubenzuron this week to kill young grasshopper nymphs. If the program is unsuccessful, authorities will resort to carbaryl and malathion, targeting the full-grown grasshoppers with the more toxic pesticides. 

Unfortunately, widespread spraying of insecticides will harm other breeds of insects as well including species that eat grasshoppers. Other species, such as Monarch Butterflies, are already struggling. Spraying pesticides will also damage any organic farms in its path and affect bees which are necessary for pollination. 

But if left unchecked, an outbreak of grasshoppers could consume crops and pasture intended for cattle, driving up grain and beef prices. Grasshoppers initially eat young and tender plants, move on to full-grown plants, and eventually eat the seed heads of grain plants. A typical infestation can remove 20% of forage from the range and have a $900 million impact, according to a 2012 University of Wyoming study cited by federal officials. Many farmers are insured against such damage but ranchers who graze their cattle on public lands are unprotected.

The last outbreak on this scale began in 1986 and lasted until 1988, affecting almost 20 million acres. The current outbreak is expected to peak in another two months, tapering off when the critters run out of food after having eaten everything in sight.

Locusts are a group of certain species of short-horned grasshoppers that have a swarming phase. Normally not a threat to agriculture, under suitable conditions of drought followed by rapid vegetation growth, a hormonal reaction changes the solitary grasshoppers into locusts after which they form swarms. Though the American species of grasshoppers do not undergo the hormonal change that transforms them into locusts, they do swarm and can cause great damage. 

This happened in 1874 when an estimated 12.5 trillion grasshoppers flew over an area encompassing 198,000 square miles between Minnesota and the Rio Grande. The “plague” of grasshoppers took place during a severe drought, compounding the troubles of the farmers.

If the situation in the western US gets worse, it could grow to resemble the Biblical plague.

Here;  https://www.israel365news.com/194293/california-braces-for-plague-of-locusts/

We wonder how many signs God would have to send before the folks in America would say, "I wonder if there is a god up there who is trying to get our attention?"  Drought, COVID, financial collapse, civil unrest, crop failures, violent crime sky rocketing, men who think they are women celebrated and promoted, drug addictions crippling our health care systems...and the list goes on.

We have an idea that at this point Americans would simply harden their hearts and would never repent and turn to God.

We don't know if the locust plague is coming, but wouldn't be surprised if it did.