KOTHAGUDEM: Villagers of BG Kothur in Aswapuram Mandal of Bhadradri Kothagudem district were in the grip of panic on Wednesday after locusts were spotted on trees near their village. Heightening this fear, photos, and videos showing a swarm of locusts preying on the trees went viral on social media as well.

The villagers claimed that the swarms of locusts originated from Maharashtra before reaching BG Kothur via Chhattisgarh. However, there is a debate on this aspect as some residents dispute this claim saying that these were just locally found insects. They also said these insects are harmless. Meanwhile, the officials reassured the villagers that there is no need to panic over the insects as they do not damage the crops.

A five-member state-level committee appointed by the government carried out an aerial survey to inspect the locust menace in the erstwhile Adilabad district on Sunday. They flew along the Telangana and Maharashtra borders to check the possibility of locust swarms entering into Telangana.

About Locusts:

India is battling the worst desert locust attacks now. The crop-destroying swarms first attacked Rajasthan and have now spread to Punjab, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh.

According to experts, broadly four species of locusts are found in India -- desert locust, migratory locust, Bombay locust and tree locust.

The desert locust is considered the most destructive. It multiplies very rapidly and is capable of covering 150 kilometers in a day. This insect, a type of grasshopper, can eat more than its body weight. One square kilometer of locust swarm containing around 40 million locusts can eat as much as 35,000 people can in a day.