Academic Decathlon Science Practice Test

Which statement accurately describes desert locusts?

They are typically solitary and have little impact on crops. They migrate only at night and pose minimal agricultural risk. They can form swarms that cause significant agricultural damage. They primarily feed on non-plant material.

Correct Answer:

They can form swarms that cause significant agricultural damage.

Explanation:

Desert locusts can switch from solitary individuals to large, swarming groups when conditions favor rapid population growth. In the swarming phase they form dense, traveling bands that can cover huge distances and strip crops bare in a short time. That combination of coordinated movement and enormous feeding pressure is what makes their swarms so damaging to agriculture, so the statement describing them as capable of forming swarms that cause significant agricultural damage is the best fit. They are not typically solitary, they don’t migrate only at night, and they feed on plant material, not non-plant matter.

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