Millions of locusts are stripping outback cattle stations of grass, feasting on the benefits of a good wet season at a time of year when they should be dormant.
Graziers in western Queensland say they are losing the battle against swarms of young migratory insects as they move on from the Alpha and Clermont areas, where they devoured huge swathes of stock feed.
As the insects make their way further north, producers around Aramac and Muttaburra now fear for the pastures they rely on to get their animals through the winter months.
Locusts damaged thousands of hectares of pasture around Alpha last month. (Supplied: Leticia Donaldson)
At Aviemore Station, between Muttaburra and Aramac, swarms of the native species have been eating through paddocks for more than two weeks.
Katie Rabnott and her husband Glen do not know how much feed will be left for their cattle when the swarm moves on.
“We’re seeing millions [of insects],” Mrs Rabnott said.
“The paddocks had responded to the March rainfall, and to lose it all to the locusts is a huge concern to us.
Large swarms of juvenile migratory locusts are slowly moving through parts of central west Queensland. (Supplied: Gordon Magoffin)
“We are so unsure about control or spraying as it’s a district plague and not just Aviemore that’s been [affected].”
Rain will cause population increase
Locusts are endemic to Queensland, and the adults are capable of flying hundreds of kilometres.
Young locusts are often mistaken for grasshoppers, but their tendency to swarm in large groups is what sets them apart.
Female migratory locusts can breed from a young age and often lay as many as 60 egg pods each time they breed. (Supplied: Clare Mulcahy, Australian Plague Locust Commission)
Aerial spraying is the most common way to control populations or mitigate against plagues, but the treatment is only effective if used when the insects are young to prevent further breeding.
According to the Queensland government, landholders are responsible for controlling locusts.
However, the government will assist with Australian plague locusts, migratory locusts and spur-throated locusts.
Where populations have the potential to cause significant damage to interstate agricultural industries, the Australian Plague Locust Commission (APLC) plays a role in managing numbers.
Bertie Hennecke says abundant feed has encouraged locust population growth. (Supplied: Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry)
Australia’s Chief Environmental Biosecurity Officer and Commissioner of the APLC, Bertie Hennecke, said locust populations usually dropped during winter months.
However, Dr Hennecke said because of the large body of feed across the central west, numbers had instead risen this year.
“It’s fairly difficult at the moment to detect eggs in the ground because of the vegetation that’s around,”
Dr Hennecke said.
“It’s not unusual to have [the population increase] when vegetation is around … it really depends how we move forward in terms of how that can play out.”
Dr Hennecke said if it kept raining in winter, it would only take about 40 millimetres for the population to continue to grow.
“If we have continuous rainfall happening, we will probably have to start some treatment at the end of winter and early autumn,” he said.
If there was less rainfall, Mr Hennecke said the population would start to “die down” as soil moisture decreased.
Producers call for more support
While Katie Rabnott has been dealing with the swarms for weeks now, Geoff Seccombe from Kenya Station, west of Muttaburra, is just starting to see swarms arrive.
“We’ve known they were coming … they look like swarms of budgies, they’re that big,”
Mr Seccombe said.
“We’ve had a magnificent season here and we’re trying to capitalise on it, but if they come through, they’ll wipe our grass out.
“I’m a bit concerned about the reports to the east … they’ve done a fair bit of damage.”
Mr Seccombe said the lack of support or response from the Queensland government had been disappointing.
“If they’re going to do as much damage as what people have said, it’d be really good if the government got on board and helped graziers,”
he said.
“It’s concerning they’re not out here helping us because this is where their food comes from.”
In response to Mr Seccombe’s comments, a spokesperson for the Department of Primary Industries said landholders needed to formally report swarms to Biosecurity Queensland
“The department is urging all landholders to take proactive measures against locusts and enact their general biosecurity obligation to mitigate the risk of plagues, following increased locust activity,” the spokesperson said.
In May, Biosecurity Queensland hosted a meeting with the Locust Oversight Group (LOG) in response to the increased activity, providing information on the current situation and response escalation.
