"Where it begins": Young hungry locusts bulk up in Somalia The young locusts in northern Somalia look less ominous than the billion-member swarms infesting East Africa in the worst outbreak some places have seen in decadesIn this photo taken Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2020, a young desert locust that has not yet grown wings is stuck in a spider's web on a thorny bush in the desert near Garowe, in the semi-autonomous Puntland region of Somalia. Small and wingless, the hopping young locusts are the next wave in the outbreak that threatens more than 10 million people across the region with a severe hunger crisis. Those fighting the locust outbreak may try to negotiate with Somalia's extremist fighters to allow spraying in rural areas where they are active, Burgeon said. In a few weeks the young locusts will shed their skin, said Keith Cressman, a senior locust forecasting officer with the FAO. The locusts at that stage are bright pink and in their most voracious state, like "very hungry teenagers,” Cressman said.

Source: ABC News February 09, 2020 08:26 UTC