Rats and Stink Bugs: Why Flowering Bamboo in India Triggers a Famine Cycle

In the hills of Mizoram, a state in northeast India, farmers watch for a specific warning sign: swarms of stink bugs, locally called *thangnang*. When they appear, it means one thing: the rats are coming. And with them, famine. Every few decades, mass blooming in Mizoram’s bamboo forests causes a rodent boom. The rats devour crops, leading to devastating food shortages for local communities. The cycle is well-known. Yet, farmers and authorities remain unprepared. Take Maunsanga, a 62-year-old farmer in Mamit district. At dawn, he walks across his plot, stopping where his rice crop once stood. He bends down to examine a broken stalk. The damage is already done. This recurring crisis raises a critical question: why does history keep repeating itself?