(IN): Green appetite: Feast of winged visitors

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Link: http://www.nagalandpage.co.in/7.html

 

*Green appetite: Feast of winged visitors*

 

*Kohima, July 13: *Nagas, who have a tradition of preparing delicacies with

insects, are having a Grasshopper feast season.

 

With hundreds of tiny creatures filling the night sky of Nagaland for the

past fortnight, locals who were initially taken aback, some even scared of

the winged creature, have started catching them to prepare dishes.

 

As dusk set in and lights came on, people come out of their houses and even

shop owners downed shutters to grab their catch, found milling around the

high mast lights that had recently sprung up in Kohima, Dimapur, Mokokchung

and other towns.

 

Soon non-Nagas also joined the party to make some fast buck with a bottle of

grasshoppers fetching a cool Rs 100.

 

Contrary to popular perception that the creatures destroy crops, experts say

that they were harmless seen only during night.

 

Initially, the grasshoppers were seen in Kohima which got the high mast

street lights in five locations last year and the people thought the

grasshoppers were attracted by the bright lights.

 

Later, similar reports of grasshopper invasions were received from

Mokokchung and Dimapur.

 

So far, no complaints about damage of crops due to the creature, mostly

brown in colour having two long antennae, have been received from the

framers.

 

Agriculture department officials said the insects are not like locusts of

Africa and the possibility of damaging crop is remote because of their short

life span.

 

" Still we are monitoring the situation in villages and have requested the

farmers to inform the department if grasshoppers attack crops, " the

officials said.

 

 

*Hopping visitors:*

 

Although no definite scientific conclusion could be arrived at by

entomologists on the sudden sighting of grasshoppers in the state, officials

in agriculture department cite environmental and climatic changes as the

reason behind the phenomenon.

 

Elderly in the villages call it a bad omen and signal of famine as

grasshoppers in swarms generally eat away the entire standing crops. But

they pointed out that this year the phenomenon had occurred much before the

harvesting season.

 

*

*

 

" We are happy that instead of using chemical pesticides to destroy them,

people have been relishing the high protein content of the winged insects, "

they said.

 

The phenomenon came close on the heels of an abnormal increase in rodent

population in the Jalukie sub-division under Peren district following bamboo

flowering. These rodents also damaged crops in Jalukie, famous for rice

cultivation.

 

Alarmed by the unusual multiplication of rodents and now this winged

invasion, the state government has decided to constitute two state-level

teams to assess the 'problems'.

 

A high-level meeting was held last week in civil secretariat conference

hall, presided over by Chief Secretary Lalhuma, to draw up an action plan.

The chief secretary suggested constitution of a multi-disciplinary action

plan involving agriculture, veterinary and animal husbandry, horticulture,

forest, home, and rural development department and asked departments

concerned to conduct assessment survey in most affected areas of Jalukie

sub-division. (PTI)

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