Locust Hub
A repository for desert locust data with maps and other resources for tracking movements, early detection and planning locust control interventions.
URL
https://locust-hub-hqfao.hub.arcgis.com/
Description
A public portal managed by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. The portal offers a geographic and time sensitive visualization of both desert locust hopper groups and swarms.
It provides a weekly tracker on the number of swarms, hoppers, locust control operations; data on the current and previous months as well as collated information on the last three months. The site states that "The data is updated frequently with the latest observations from the field" by assigned locust teams supplemented by additional field staff.
Data is validated by the country’s national locust centre and then sent to the Desert Locust Information Service at FAO Headquarters before being made public.
Green dots represent the presence of groups of hoppers or young locusts that cannot fly but are a threat to ground-level crops, while yellow dots represent groups of adult, winged locusts. Blue dots represent bands or larger groups of hoppers, while red dots represent adult swarms, which are the most damaging group as they can fly long distances and wipe out entire fields within hours. Light blue dots represent where control operations are being carried out.
The locust data explorer interface is updated every four hours and provides additional information on the location, maturity, behavior and breeding status by clicking on a particular location where locusts have been identified.
The data can also be used to predict movement of swarms, when used in conjunction with tools such as windfinder.com which offers a map of wind speeds in the region, or soil moisture viewer, as locusts thrive after heavy periods of rainfall.
Cost
Level of difficulty
Requirements
Users will need to submit this online form and create a FAO Data in Emergency Community account to have access to the full historical archives dataset. The data provided are "archival" data, from 1965 to last year.
Real-time data are not available but can be seen through the Locust-Hub data explorer.
Users can also use an ArcGIS login if this is already provided by their institution.
Limitations
The hub is mostly descriptive (i.e., past and current sightings). The data quality will vary per country as it depends on inputs by local teams.
Some familiarity with GIS tools will be required for non-specialists.
Although the data is regularly updated, it may not always be updated in time for research on the real-time status or for making predictions.
Ethical Considerations
If using Locust Hub data with personally identifiable or politically sensitive datasets, it is advisable to avoid unintentionally exposing individuals or communities to risk. Data should be contextualized, anonymized where necessary, and presented with transparency about its limitations and sources.
Guides and articles
Edward Tian: How To Track Desert Locus Swarms, Bellingcat.
Tool provider
Managed by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations headquartered in Rome, Italy.
Similar tools
Tools similar to Locust Hub:
eLocust3m: This is a smartphone app developed by FAO in collaboration with PlantVillage / Penn State, designed for field teams to report locusts. It also has a function that allows app users to report sightings.
eLocust3: This includes a field survey device with tablet and satellite antenna used by national survey/control teams, especially in remote areas where connectivity is poor. It includes features like mapping, navigation, recording of infestation polygons (via GPS) and data transmission via satellite so that even remote survey teams can send data.
EarthRanger: Developed for wildlife management, EarthRanger has been enhanced to ensure ingestion of eLocust3m and eLocust3g data as well as exporting manually entered data in a compatible format for inclusion in the RAMSES GIS used by national locust authorities. It is used to manage survey and control aircraft / assets, track spray operations, visualize maps of where swarms and control interventions are happening.
For predictive modelling, Locust Hub is best used in conjunction with other tools such as:
Windspeed: https://www.windfinder.com/
Weather and Rainfall data offered by Nasa Worldview.
Agricultural Impact: https://app.gro-intelligence.com/displays/WdK0QlkqK
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