A recent study presented in the journal Science reached the conclusion that the increases of serotonin leads to the swarming instinct of desert locusts, an information that could help avoid devastating plagues in the future.

The researchers believe that the nerve-signalling chemical is responsible for the behaviour changes that make simple insects turn into the destructive pests.

"For a swarm to develop the locusts must transform from a solitary phase into a gregarious phase," explained University of Cambridge researcher Stephen Rogers, who involved with the study. He also talked about past incidents, such as the big African swarm from 2004 which cost $400 million, without including the losses recorded by the distroyed crops.

The matter is indeed extremely serious and has been a puzzler for many years. Michael Anstey, a University of Oxford researcher who worked on the study, said that this question on the behaviour of locusts has been investigates by researcher for more than 90 years and the fact that there is finally an answer represents a great accomplishment.

The experiment demanded that some grasshoppers be injected with drugs designed to block the serotonin while others were injected with the chemical itself. The results were clear, as the ones on serotonin turned gregarious, while the others did not.

The findings do not provide an immediate solution on the pest control issue, but it is believed that it represents a big step in the right direction. The plan is to find a way of stopping the devastating swarms before they form.