Locust
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Locust is the name given to the swarming phase of short-horned grasshoppers of the family Acrididae. The origins and apparent extinction of certain species of locust—some of which reach 6 inches (15 cm) in length—are unclear.[citation needed]
These are species that can breed rapidly under suitable conditions and subsequently become gregarious and migratory. They form bands as nymphs and swarms as adults- both of which can travel great distances, rapidly stripping fields and greatly damaging crops.
Some examples of Locust species are:-
- Migratory locust (Locusta migratoria)
- Red locust (Nomadracis septemfasciata)
- Australian plague locust (Chortoicetes terminifera)
- American desert locust (Schistocerca Americana)
- Desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria), probably the most important in terms of its very wide distribution (North Africa, Middle East, and Indian subcontinent) and its ability to migrate very widely.
- Rocky Mountain locust (Melanoplus spretus) in North America had some of the largest recorded swarms, but mysteriously died out in the late 19th century.
Though the female and the male look alike they can be distinguished by looking at the end of their abdomen. The male has a boat-shaped tip while the female has two serrated valves that can be either apart or kept together. These valves aid in the digging of the hole in which an egg pod is deposited.
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[edit] Locusts in history and literature
According to the Bible, a swarm of locusts comprised the eighth plague in the story of the plagues of Egypt. In the Book of Revelation locusts with scorpion tails and human faces are to torment unbelievers for five months when the fifth trumpet sounds. One Old Testament book, Joel, is written in the context of a recent locust plague. Interestingly, the locusts are described in four different ways - "swarming locusts, cutting locusts, hopping locusts and destroying locusts." Although these were identified by the old Authorised Version as four different creatures, modern translations correctly identify them as four kinds of locusts. This fits with the many molts (called instars) through which locusts go. For example, the "hopper" probably denotes the nymph stage (the first instar), the wings are not developed and the nymph hops about. For more information about the locusts in Joel, see Raymond Dillard in Minor Prophets Vol 1, ed Thomas McComiskey.
In Plato's Phaedrus Socrates says that locusts were once human. When the Muses first brought song into the world, the beauty so captivated some people that they forgot to eat and drink until they died. The Muses turned those unfortunate souls into locusts—singing their entire lives.
In her novel On the Banks of Plum Creek Laura Ingalls Wilder writes of a "glittering cloud" of locusts so large it blocked out the sun as it approached. The swarm descended upon her family's farm near Walnut Grove, Minnesota, destroying a year's wheat crop, and stripping the prairie bare of all vegetation.
[edit] Locusts as food
Locusts, encompassing four distinct species native to the Arabian peninsula, are the only invertebrates considered to be Kosher food. The tradition for identifying which species of locust were and were not kosher has been lost among all Jews except the Jews of Yemen. (One hypothesis links these kosher insects to the Biblical manna which was provided as food for the Israelites in the desert).
Locusts are also considered acceptable to Muslims under Zhabiĥa if they are caught live and then die, the individual catching the locust does not necessarily have to be Muslim.[1]
In Nigeria's far north-eastern Borno State, locusts are sold to the public after frying in vegetable oil and eaten as snacks. They are commonly referred to as "desert shrimps".[2]
[edit] Locusts as experimental model
Locusts are used as models in many fields of biology especially in the field of olfactory, visual and locomotor neurophysiology. It is one of the organisms for which we have obtained detailed data on information processing in the olfactory pathway of organisms. It is suitable for the above purposes because of the robustness of the preparation for electrophysiological experiments and easiness of growing them.
[edit] Swarming behaviour and extinctions
Research at Cambridge University has identified the swarming behaviour is a response to overcrowding. The trigger is increased tactile stimulation of the hind legs. Several contacts per minute over a four hour period are sufficient to induce transformation to the swarming variety.[3] It is estimated that the largest swarms have covered hundreds of square miles and consisted of many millions of locusts.
The extinction of the Rocky Mountain locust has been a source of puzzlement. Recent research suggests that the breeding grounds of this insect, in the valleys of the Rocky Mountains, came under sustained agriculture, destroying the underground eggs of the locust. The farming of those valleys was a response to the large influx of gold miners.[citation needed]
[edit] See also
- List of locust species
- 1915 Locust Plague
- 2004 Locust Outbreak
- USAID Supplemental Environmental Assessment of the Ertirean Locust Control Program [1].
- USAID 1994. Supplementary environmental assessment for locust and grasshopper control in Pakistan. USAID, Washington, DC.
- USAID 1994. Supplementary environmental assessment for locust and grasshopper control in India. USAID, Washington, DC.
- USAID 1993. Supplementary environmental assessment of the Eritrean Locust Control Program. USAID, Washington DC.
- USAID 1993. Supplementary environmental assessment for locust and grasshopper control in Ethiopia. USAID, Washington DC.
[edit] External links
- More detailed information on locusts can be found at the pages of the Australian Plague Locust Commission.
- Desert Locust Meteorological Monitoring at Sahel Resources
