Tiros v. Locusts

In other councils, Israelis and Egyptians would hesitate to even sit at the same table. In the rambling building overlooking London's Hyde Park, they converse with a frank respect for each other's opinions. There, for a change, they have joined forces to fight a common enemy: the desert locust. In the conference rooms of Britain's Anti-locust Research Center, which works with the United Nations, entomologists and agricultural scientists from 30 nations in Asia, Africa and the Middle East gather to mount a defense against the ugly winged brutes known as Shistocerca gregaria.

Until a few years ago, practically nothing could be done about a locust invasion. As the big insects migrated in swarms that darkened the sky, tree limbs cracked under their weight; with their voracious appetites, they consumed growing crops that would have fed millions. But Dr. Reginald Rainey and his colleagues of the Anti-locust Research Center have discovered that the movements of man's ancient enemy have an intimate connection with meteorology. Locusts need rain, and the desert vegetation that rain encourages, before they can breed into black swarms. When the desert bursts into sudden bloom, the locust hordes multiply swiftly. And when they have devoured the thin vegetation, they migrate downwind to bring devastation to the nearest green land.

The London center gathers its reports on locusts and weather from every available source. Meteorologists and entomologists constantly check their maps to decide whether a sighted swarm is likely to prove dangerous. Trouble is that few of the 300 weather stations spread from Spain to India are in the uninhabited desert, where locusts get their start. Until recently, it was often impossible to predict the behavior of a swarm that had been spotted in one of those empty places.

But today's locust fighters have a new and glamorous aid. U.S. Tiros weather satellites have proved to be reliable anti-locust spies. To cryptic reparts from wandering Bedouins, Tiros has added observations made while circling on its high orbit. Its cloud pictures predict locust-bearing winds, and prompt warnings can be drafted. Thanks to U.S. spacemen, African locust invasions no longer come as unpleasant surprises. Threatened countries can now count on time enough to organize a chemical counterattack.

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