Plague of locusts

Aveyron, France

A heat wave baking France this summer has caused hundreds of thousands of locusts to swarm across the south. France is normally too wet for locust larvae to survive, but the summer has been so dry that the bugs are hatching and breeding. “There is nothing we can do for the 700 or 800 farmers affected,” said agriculture official Patrice Lemoux. “The locust has no known predator and the only insecticides that might make a difference are banned.” The insects eat every plant in their path, including the flowers in the window boxes of southern French villages.