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{{Short description|Grasshopper that has a swarming phase}} {{About|the insects in the family Acrididae}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2018}} {{Use British English|date=November 2018}} {{Good article}} [[File:Locusta-migratoria-wanderheuschrecke.jpg|thumb|Locusts, such as this [[migratory locust]] (''Locusta migratoria''), are grasshoppers in a migratory phase of their life.]] [[File:CSIRO ScienceImage 7007 Plague locusts on the move.jpg|thumb|Millions of [[swarm]]ing [[Australian plague locust]]s on the move]] '''Locusts''' (derived from the [[Latin]] ''locusta'', locust or lobster<ref>{{OEtymD|locust}}</ref>) are various [[species]] of short-horned [[grasshopper]]s in the family [[Acrididae]] that have a [[Swarm behaviour|swarming]] phase. These insects are usually solitary, but under certain circumstances they become more abundant and change their behaviour and habits, becoming [[sociality|gregarious]]. No taxonomic distinction is made between locust and grasshopper species; the basis for the definition is whether a species forms swarms under intermittently suitable conditions; this has evolved independently in multiple lineages, comprising at least 18 genera in 5 different subfamilies. Normally, these grasshoppers are innocuous, their numbers are low, and they do not pose a major economic threat to agriculture. However, under suitable conditions of [[drought]] followed by rapid vegetation growth, [[serotonin]] in their brains triggers dramatic changes: they start to breed abundantly, becoming gregarious and nomadic (loosely described as [[Insect migration|migratory]]) when their populations become dense enough. They form bands of wingless [[nymph (biology)|nymphs]] that later become swarms of winged adults. Both the bands and the swarms move around, rapidly strip fields, and [[pest (organism)|damage crops]]. The adults are powerful fliers; they can travel great distances, consuming most of the green vegetation wherever the swarm settles. Locusts have formed [[Swarm behaviour|plagues]] since [[prehistory]]. The [[ancient Egypt]]ians carved them on their tombs and the insects are mentioned in the ''[[Iliad]]'', the [[Mahabharata]], the [[Bible]] and [[Quran]]. Swarms have devastated crops and have caused [[famine]]s and human migrations. More recently, changes in [[agriculture|agricultural]] practices and better surveillance of locust breeding grounds have allowed control measures at an early stage. Traditional locust control uses [[insecticide]]s from the ground or air, but newer [[biological control]] methods are proving effective. Swarming behaviour decreased in the 20th century, but despite modern surveillance and control methods, swarms can still form; when suitable weather conditions occur and vigilance lapses, plagues can occur. Locusts are large insects and convenient for research and classroom study of zoology. They are [[Entomophagy|edible by humans]]. They have been eaten throughout history and are considered a [[delicacy]] in many countries. == Swarming grasshoppers == {{main|Grasshopper|Swarm behaviour|Predator satiation}} {{external media |width = 210px |float = right |headerimage= |video1 = [https://knowablemagazine.org/article/living-world/2020/locusts-and-grasshoppers-things-know "Locusts and Grasshoppers - Things to Know"], ''[[Knowable Magazine]]'', 2020.}} Locusts are the [[Swarm behaviour|swarming]] phase of certain species of short-horned [[grasshopper]]s in the family [[Acrididae]]. These insects are usually solitary, but under certain circumstances become more abundant and change their behaviour and habits, becoming [[Social animal|gregarious]].<ref name="CurrentBio">{{cite journal|author1=Simpson, Stephen J. |author2= Sword, Gregory A. |title=Locusts|journal=Current Biology|volume=18|issue=9|pages=R364–R366|doi=10.1016/j.cub.2008.02.029|pmid=18460311|year=2008|doi-access=free|bibcode= 2008CBio...18.R364S }}{{Open access}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fao.org/ag/locusts/en/info/info/faq/ |title=Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about locusts |work=Locust watch |publisher=FAO |access-date=1 April 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.animalcorner.co.uk/insects/grasshoppers/grasshopper_about.html |title=Grasshoppers |work=Animal Corner |access-date=1 April 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150408004426/http://www.animalcorner.co.uk/insects/grasshoppers/grasshopper_about.html |archive-date=8 April 2015 }}</ref> [[File:Copulating desert locust pair.jpg|thumb|left|Desert locusts in copulation]] No [[Taxonomy (biology)|taxonomic]] distinction is made between locust and grasshopper species; the basis for the definition is whether a species forms swarms under intermittently suitable conditions. In English, the term "locust" is used for grasshopper species that change [[morphology (biology)|morphologically]] and behaviourally on crowding, forming swarms that develop from bands of immature stages called hoppers. The change is described as density-dependent [[phenotypic plasticity]].<ref name="Pener Simpson 2009">{{cite book |last1=Pener |first1=Meir Paul |last2=Simpson |first2=Stephen J. |volume=36 |isbn=9780123814289 |series=Advances in Insect Physiology |title=Locust Phase Polyphenism: An Update |date=14 October 2009 |publication-date=23 September 2009 |edition=1st |page=9 |publisher=Academic Press}}></ref> These changes are examples of phase [[polyphenism]]; they were first analysed and described by [[Boris Uvarov]], who was instrumental in setting up the [[Anti-Locust Research Centre]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Baron |first=Stanley |title=The Desert Locust |journal=[[New Scientist]] |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yhMXtivOrZ4C&pg=PA156 |date=1972 |page=156}}</ref> He made his discoveries during his studies of the migratory locust in the [[Caucasus]], whose solitary and gregarious phases had previously been thought to be separate species (''Locusta migratoria'' and ''L. danica'' L.). He designated the two phases as ''solitaria'' and ''gregaria''.<ref name=Dingle1996>{{cite book |last=Dingle |first=Hugh |title=Migration: The Biology of Life on the Move |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qzzJoVfgg0QC&pg=PA273 |year=1996 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-535827-8 |pages=273–274}}</ref> These are called [[statary]] and migratory [[Polymorphism (biology)|morph]]s, though strictly speaking, their swarms are [[nomad]]ic rather than [[Animal migration|migratory]]. [[Charles Valentine Riley]] and [[Norman Criddle]] were involved in achieving the understanding and control of locusts.<ref>[[Wikisource:The Encyclopedia Americana (1920)/Riley, Charles Valentine]]</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Holliday |first=N. J. |url=http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/mb_history/51/criddle_n.shtml |title=Norman Criddle: Pioneer Entomologist of the Prairies |date=1 February 2006 |work=Manitoba History |publisher=Manitoba Historical Society |access-date=16 April 2015}}</ref> Swarming behaviour is a response to overcrowding. Increased tactile stimulation of the hind legs causes an increase in levels of serotonin.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7858996.stm |work=BBC News |last=Morgan |first=James |title=Locust swarms 'high' on serotonin |date=29 January 2009 |access-date=4 March 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131010043157/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7858996.stm |archive-date=10 October 2013}}</ref> This causes the locust to change colour, eat much more, and breed much more easily. The transformation of the locust to the swarming form is induced by several contacts per minute over a four-hour period.<ref>{{cite journal |year=2003 |title=Mechanosensory-induced behavioral gregarization in the desert locust ''Schistocerca gregaria'' |journal=[[Journal of Experimental Biology]] |volume=206 |issue=22 |pages=3991–4002 |doi=10.1242/jeb.00648 |pmid=14555739 |last1=Rogers |first1=S. M. |last2=Matheson |first2=T. |last3=Despland |first3=E. |last4=Dodgson |first4=T. |last5=Burrows |first5=M. |last6=Simpson |first6=S. J. |s2cid=10665260 |doi-access= |bibcode=2003JExpB.206.3991R }}{{Open access}}</ref> A large swarm can consist of billions of locusts spread out over an area of thousands of square kilometres, with a population of up to 80 million per square kilometre (200 million per square mile).<ref name=Showler/> When desert locusts meet, their nervous systems release serotonin, which causes them to become mutually attracted, a prerequisite for swarming.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Stevenson |first=P. A. |date=2009 |title=The key to Pandora's box |journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]] |volume=323 |issue=5914 |pages=594–595 |pmid=19179520 |doi=10.1126/science.1169280|s2cid=39306643 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16505-blocking-happiness-chemical-may-prevent-locust-plagues.html |title=Blocking 'happiness' chemical may prevent locust plagues |publisher=New Scientist |date=29 January 2009 |access-date=31 January 2009 |author=Callaway, Ewen }}</ref><ref name="Antsey Rogers Swidbert 2009">{{cite journal |last1=Antsey |first1=Michael |last2=Rogers |first2=Stephen |last3=Swidbert |first3=R.O. |last4=Burrows |first4=Malcolm |last5=Simpson |first5=S.J. |title=Serotonin mediates behavioral gregarization underlying swarm formation in desert locusts |journal=Science |date=30 January 2009 |volume=323|issue=5914 |pages=627–630 |doi=10.1126/science.1165939 |pmid=19179529 |bibcode=2009Sci...323..627A |s2cid=5448884 }}</ref> The formation of initial bands of gregarious hoppers is called an "outbreak"; when these join into larger groups, the event is known as an "upsurge". Continuing agglomerations of upsurges on a regional level originating from a number of entirely separate breeding locations are known as "plagues".<ref name=Showler2013>{{cite web |last=Showler |first=Allan T. |url=http://ipmworld.umn.edu/chapters/showler.htm |title=The Desert Locust in Africa and Western Asia: Complexities of War, Politics, Perilous Terrain, and Development |date=4 March 2013 |work=Radcliffe's IPM World Textbook |publisher=University of Minnesota |access-date=3 April 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150408034918/http://ipmworld.umn.edu/chapters/showler.htm |archive-date=8 April 2015 }}</ref> During outbreaks and the early stages of upsurges, only part of the locust population becomes gregarious, with scattered bands of hoppers spread out over a large area. As time goes by, the insects become more cohesive and the bands become concentrated in a smaller area. In the desert locust plague in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia that lasted from 1966 to 1969, the number of locusts increased from two to 30 billion over two generations, but the area covered decreased from over {{convert|100000|km2}} to {{convert|5000|km2}}.<ref name=Krall453/> === Solitary and gregarious phases === [[File:DesertLocust.jpeg|thumb|''Solitaria'' (grasshopper) and ''gregaria'' (swarming) phases of the desert locust]] One of the greatest differences between the solitary and gregarious phases is behavioural. The ''gregaria'' nymphs are attracted to each other, this being seen as early as the second [[instar]]. They soon form bands of many thousands of individuals. These groups behave like cohesive units and move across the landscape, mostly downhill, but making their way around barriers and merging with other bands. The attraction between the insects involves visual and [[Olfaction|olfactory]] cues.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Guo |first1=Xiaojiao |last2=Yu |first2=Qiaoqiao |last3=Chen |first3=Dafeng |last4=Wei |first4=Jianing |last5=Yang |first5=Pengcheng |last6=Yu |first6=Jia |last7=Wang |first7=Xianhui |last8=Kang |first8=Le |doi=10.1038/s41586-020-2610-4 |title=4-Vinylanisole is an aggregation pheromone in locusts |year=2020 |journal=Nature |volume=584 |issue=7822 |pages=584–588 |pmid=32788724 |bibcode=2020Natur.584..584G |s2cid=221106319}}</ref> The bands seem to navigate using the sun. They pause to feed at intervals before continuing on, and may cover tens of kilometres over a few weeks.<ref name=Dingle1996/> Locusts in the gregarious phase differ in morphology and development. In the desert locust and the migratory locust, for example, the ''gregaria'' nymphs become darker with strongly contrasting yellow and black markings, they grow larger, and have a longer nymphal period; the adults are larger with different body proportions, less [[sexual dimorphism]], and higher [[Metabolism|metabolic rates]]; they mature more rapidly and start reproducing earlier, but have lower levels of [[fecundity]].<ref name=Dingle1996/> The mutual attraction between individual insects continues into adulthood, and they continue to act as a cohesive group. Individuals that get detached from a swarm fly back into the mass. Others that get left behind after feeding take off to rejoin the swarm when it passes overhead. When individuals at the front of the swarm settle to feed, others fly past overhead and settle in their turn, the whole swarm acting like a rolling unit with an ever-changing leading edge. The locusts spend much time on the ground feeding and resting, moving on when the vegetation is exhausted. They may then fly a considerable distance before settling in a location where transitory rainfall has caused a green flush of new growth.<ref name=Dingle1996/> ==Distribution and diversity== {{main|List of locust species}} {{multiple image |total_width=500 |image1=SGR laying.jpg |caption1=Desert locust [[Ovipositor|ovipositing]] during a locust outbreak |image2=Locust-eggs Palestine 1930 composite coloured.jpg |caption2=Clusters of desert locust eggs laid in sand }} Several species of [[grasshopper]]s swarm as locusts in different parts of the world, on all continents except Antarctica:<ref name=SciAm-Swarming>{{cite magazine |last1=Harmon |first1=Katherine |title=When Grasshoppers Go Biblical: Serotonin Causes Locusts to Swarm |url=http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/when-grasshoppers-go-bibl/ |magazine=[[Scientific American]] |access-date=7 April 2015 |date=30 January 2009}}</ref><ref name=Wagner>{{cite journal |author=Wagner, Alexandra M. |title=Grasshoppered: America's response to the 1874 Rocky Mountain locust invasion |url=https://history.nebraska.gov/sites/history.nebraska.gov/files/doc/publications/NH2008Grasshoppered.pdf |journal=Nebraska History |volume=89 |issue=4 |pages=154–167 |date=Winter 2008 |access-date=2 March 2020 |archive-date=15 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415021930/https://history.nebraska.gov/sites/history.nebraska.gov/files/doc/publications/NH2008Grasshoppered.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Yoon|first1=Carol Kaesuk |title=Looking Back at the Days of the Locust |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/23/science/looking-back-at-the-days-of-the-locust.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=1 April 2015 |date=23 April 2002}}</ref>{{efn|The [[Schistocerca americana|American locust]] (''Schistocerca americana'') does not swarm.<ref name=thomas>Thomas, M. C. ''The American grasshopper, ''Schistocerca americana americana'' (Drury) (Orthoptera: Acrididae)''. Entomology Circular No. 342. Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. May 1991.</ref>}} For example, the [[Australian plague locust]] (''Chortoicetes terminifera'') swarms across Australia.<ref name=SciAm-Swarming/> The [[desert locust]] (''Schistocerca gregaria'') is probably the best known species owing to its wide distribution ([[North Africa]], [[Middle East]], and [[Indian subcontinent]])<ref name=SciAm-Swarming/> and its ability to [[Animal migration|migrate]] over long distances. A [[2004 Africa locust infestation|major infestation covered much of western Africa from 2003 to 2005]], after unusually heavy rain set up favourable ecological conditions for swarming. The first outbreaks occurred in Mauritania, Mali, Niger, and Sudan in 2003. The rain allowed swarms to develop and move north to Morocco and Algeria, threatening croplands.<ref>{{cite web |title=FAO issues Desert Locust alert: Mauritania, Niger, Sudan and other neighbouring countries at risk |url=http://www.fao.org/english/newsroom/news/2003/24019-en.html |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization |access-date=3 July 2015 |location=Rome |date=20 October 2003 |archive-date=31 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170331112729/http://www.fao.org/english/newsroom/news/2003/24019-en.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title= Desert Locusts Plague West Africa|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4168375|publisher=NPR|work = Morning Edition|date=15 November 2004}}</ref> Swarms crossed Africa, appearing in Egypt, Jordan and Israel, the first time in those countries for 50 years.<ref>{{cite web |title=Desert Locust Archives 2003 |url=http://www.fao.org/ag/locusts/en/archives/archive/1366/2003/index.html |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization |access-date=3 July 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Desert Locust Archives 2004 |url=http://www.fao.org/ag/locusts/en/archives/archive/1366/2004/index.html |publisher=[[Food and Agriculture Organization]] |access-date=3 July 2015}}</ref> The cost of handling the infestation was put at US$122 million, and the damage to crops at up to $2.5 billion.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Desert Locust Outbreak in West Africa |url=http://www.oecd.org/general/thedesertlocustoutbreakinwestafrica.htm |publisher=OECD |access-date=3 July 2015 |date=23 September 2004}}</ref> The [[migratory locust]] (''Locusta migratoria''), sometimes classified into up to 10 subspecies, swarms in Africa, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand, but has become rare in Europe.<ref name=Chapuis>{{cite journal |last=Chapuis |first=M-P. |author2=Lecoq, M. |author3=Michalakis, Y. |author4=Loiseau, A. |author5=Sword, G. A. |author6=Piry, S. |author7= Estoup, A. |title=Do outbreaks affect genetic population structure? A worldwide survey in a pest plagued by microsatellite null alleles |journal=Molecular Ecology |date=1 August 2008 |volume=17 |issue=16 |pages=3640–3653 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-294X.2008.03869.x |pmid=18643881|s2cid=4185861 |url=http://agritrop.cirad.fr/545307/ |url-access=subscription }}</ref> [[2013 Madagascar locust infestation|In 2013, the Madagascan form of the migratory locust formed many swarms]] of over a billion insects, reaching "plague" status and covering about half the country by March 2013.<ref>{{cite news |last=Botelho |first=Greg |title=Plague of locusts infests impoverished Madagascar |date=28 March 2013 |publisher=[[CNN]] |url=http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/27/world/africa/madagascar-locusts |access-date=29 March 2013}}</ref> Species such as the [[Senegalese grasshopper]] (''Oedaleus senegalensis'')<ref name=Uvarov>{{cite book |last=Uvarov |first=B.P. |year=1966 |title=Grasshoppers and Locusts (Vol. 1) |publisher=Cambridge University Press |chapter=Phase polymorphism}}</ref> and the [[Hieroglyphus daganensis|African rice grasshopper]] (''Hieroglyphus daganensis''), both from the [[Sahel]], often display locust-like behaviour and change morphologically on crowding.<ref name=Uvarov/> North America is the only sub-continent besides Antarctica without a native locust species. The [[Rocky Mountain locust]] was formerly one of the most significant insect pests there, but it became extinct in 1902.<ref>''[[Canada's History]]'', October–November 2015, pages 43-44</ref> In the 1930s, during the [[Dust Bowl]], a second species of North American locust, the High Plains locust (''[[Dissosteira longipennis]]''), reached plague proportions in the American Midwest. Today, the High Plains locust is a rare species, leaving North America with no regularly swarming locusts.<ref name="Wills 2018a">{{cite web |url=https://daily.jstor.org/the-long-lost-locust/ |title=The Long-Lost Locust |last= Wills |first= Matthew |date=14 June 2018 |website= JSTOR Daily |access-date= October 5, 2020 |quote=...the High Plains locust (''Dissosteira longipennis''), which swept through the early 1930s...}}</ref><ref name="Wills 2018b">{{cite web |url=https://daily.jstor.org/the-long-lost-locust/ |title= The Long-Lost Locust |last=Wills |first= Matthew |date=14 June 2018 |website=JSTOR Daily |access-date= October 5, 2020 |quote=The High Plains locust still exists, but it's uncommon, just another innocent-looking grasshopper munching away on plants.}}</ref> === Evolution === The fossilized wing of an indeterminate locust has been found in [[Rupelian|Early Oligocene]]-aged sediments of the [[Pabdeh Formation]] in [[Iran]], which were deposited in a deep marine environment. The locust was likely migrating across the early [[Paratethys|Paratethys Sea]], between the emergent Arabian Peninsula and central Iran, which were still separated by large areas of deep ocean at this time. This suggests that trans-oceanic locust migrations have been occurring for at least 30 million years, likely facilitated by the spread of [[Grassland|grasslands]] at the time.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Mirzaie Ataabadi |first1=Majid |last2=Bahrami |first2=Ali |last3=Yazdi |first3=Mehdi |last4=Nel |first4=André |date=2019-05-28 |title=A locust witness of a trans-oceanic Oligocene migration between Arabia and Iran (Orthoptera: Acrididae) |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08912963.2017.1378651 |journal=Historical Biology |language=en |volume=31 |issue=5 |pages=574–580 |doi=10.1080/08912963.2017.1378651 |bibcode=2019HBio...31..574M |issn=0891-2963}}</ref> ==Interaction with humans and animals== ===Ancient times=== [[File:Maler der Grabkammer des Horemhab 002.jpg|thumb|Locust detail from a hunt mural in the grave-chamber of [[Horemhab]], [[Ancient Egypt]], ''circa'' 1422–1411 BC]] Study of literature shows how pervasive plagues of locusts were over the course of history. The insects arrived unexpectedly, often after a change of wind direction or weather, and the consequences were devastating. The Ancient Egyptians carved locusts on tombs in the period 2470 to 2220 BC. A devastating plague in Egypt is mentioned in the [[Book of Exodus]] in the Bible.<ref name=Krall453>{{cite book|author1=Krall, S.|author2=Peveling, R.|author3=Diallo, B.D. |title=New Strategies in Locust Control |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s6ndBQiTiRAC&pg=PA453 |year=1997 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=978-3-7643-5442-8 |pages=453–454}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Book of Exodus |at=10: 13–15 |quote=And Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, and the Lord brought an east wind upon the land all that day, and all that night; and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts. 14 And the locust went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the coasts of Egypt: very grievous were they; before them there were no such locusts as they, neither after them shall be such. 15 For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left: and there remained not any green thing in the trees, or in the herbs of the field, through all the land of Egypt.}}</ref> Locust plague is mentioned in the Indian ''[[Mahabharata]]''.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FRzcSZPahZ0C&q=locusts+mahabharata&pg=PA93 |title=The Mahabharata |date=2010 |publisher=Penguin Books India |isbn=978-0-14-310016-4 |page=93}}</ref> The ''[[Iliad]]'' mentions locusts taking to the wing to escape fire.<ref>{{cite web |author=Homer |title=Iliad 21.1 |website=Perseus Tufts |access-date=16 August 2017 |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0134%3Abook%3D21%3Acard%3D1}}</ref> Plagues of locusts are mentioned in the Quran.<ref name=Showler>{{cite book |editor=John L. Capinera |year=2008 |title=Encyclopedia of Entomology |publisher=[[Springer Science+Business Media|Springer]] |isbn=978-1-4020-6242-1 |chapter=Desert locust, ''Schistocerca gregaria'' Forskål (Orthoptera: Acrididae) plagues |author= Showler, Allan T. |pages=1181–1186 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i9ITMiiohVQC&pg=PA118}}</ref> In the ninth century BC, the Chinese authorities appointed anti-locust officers.<ref name=Spinage2012/> In the [[New Testament]], John the Baptist was said to survive in the wilderness on locusts and wild honey; and human-headed locusts appear in the [[Book of Revelation]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bible Gateway passage: Revelation 9:7 - King James Version |url=https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation%209%3A7&version=KJV |access-date=2021-12-26 |website=Bible Gateway}}</ref> [[Aristotle]] studied locusts and their breeding habits and [[Livy]] recorded a devastating plague in [[Capua]] in 203 BC. He mentioned human epidemics following locust plagues which he associated with the stench from the putrifying corpses; the linking of human disease outbreaks to locust plagues was widespread. A pestilence in the northwestern provinces of China in 311 AD that killed 98% of the population locally was blamed on locusts, and may have been caused by an increase in numbers of [[rat]]s (and their [[flea]]s) that devoured the locust carcasses.<ref name="Spinage2012">{{cite book |last=McNeill |first=William H. |title=Plagues and Peoples |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-385-12122-4 |page=146}}</ref> === Recent times === [[File:Diagrams of Locusts which swarmed over England in 1748.jpg|thumb|Locusts which swarmed over England in 1748: Drawing by [[William Delacour|De la Cour]]; engraved by R. White, in [[Thomas Pennant]]'s ''A Tour in Wales'', 1781]] During the last two millennia, desert locust plagues have appeared sporadically in Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. Other species of locusts caused havoc in North and South America, Asia, and Australasia; in China, 173 outbreaks over 1924 years.<ref name=Spinage2012/> The [[Nomadacris succincta|Bombay locust]] (''Nomadacris succincta'') was a major pest in India and southeastern Asia in the 18th and 19th centuries, but has seldom swarmed since the last plague in 1908.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nzdl.org/gsdlmod?e=d-00000-00---off-0hdl--00-0----0-10-0---0---0direct-10---4-------0-1l--11-en-50---20-about---00-0-1-00-0-0-11-1-0utfZz-8-10&cl=CL1.10&d=HASHd1edbf77fbe3fa2e5e3da5.7.3&gc=0 |title=Bombay locust – ''Nomadacris succincta'' |work=Locust Handbook |publisher=Humanity Development Library |access-date=3 April 2015}}</ref> In the spring of 1747 locusts arrived outside [[Damascus]] eating the majority of the crops and vegetation of the surrounding countryside. One local barber, Ahmad al-Budayri, recalled the locusts "came like a black cloud. They covered everything: the trees and the crops. May God Almighty save us!"<ref>{{cite book |last=Grehan |first=James |title=Twilight of the Saints:Everyday Religion in Ottoman Syria and Palestine |date=2014 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=1}}</ref> The extinction of the [[Rocky Mountain locust]] has been a source of puzzlement. It had swarmed throughout the west of the United States and parts of Canada in the 19th century. [[Albert's swarm]] of 1875 was estimated to contain 12.5 trillion insects covering an area of {{convert|198000|sqmi|km2}} (larger than the state of [[California]]) and to weigh 27.5 million tons.<ref name=diversity>{{cite web |url=http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Melanoplus_spretus.html |title=''Melanoplus spretus'', Rocky Mountain grasshopper |work=Animal Diversity Web |publisher=University of Michigan Museum of Zoology |access-date=16 April 2009}}</ref> The last specimen was seen alive in Canada in 1902. Recent research suggests the breeding grounds of this insect in the valleys of the [[Rocky Mountains]] came under sustained agricultural development during the large influx of [[gold mining|gold miners]],<ref name="Encarta">Encarta Reference Library Premium 2005 DVD. ''Rocky Mountain Locust''.</ref> destroying the underground eggs of the locust.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.denver-rmn.com/millennium/0622mile.shtml |author=Ryckman, Lisa Levitt |title=The great locust mystery |newspaper=[[Rocky Mountain News]] |date=22 June 1999 |access-date=20 May 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070228084636/http://www.denver-rmn.com/millennium/0622mile.shtml |archive-date=28 February 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Lockwood |first=Jeffrey A. |year=2005 |title=Locust: the Devastating Rise and Mysterious Disappearance of the Insect that Shaped the American Frontier |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=swJWsR5CFu0C&pg=PR5 |publisher=[[Basic Books]] |isbn=978-0-465-04167-1}}</ref> The [[1915 Ottoman Syria locust infestation|1915 infestation]] across Palestine and Syria was one of the main contributors to [[Great Famine of Mount Lebanon|famine in Lebanon]] which lasted from 1915 to 1918 during which around 200,000 people died.<ref name="Ghazal 2016">{{cite news |last=Ghazal |first=Rym |title=Lebanon's dark days of hunger: The Great Famine of 1915–18 |url=http://www.thenational.ae/world/middle-east/lebanons-dark-days-of-hunger-the-great-famine-of-1915-18 |access-date=24 January 2016 |publisher=The National |date=14 April 2015}}</ref><ref name="BBC 2014">{{cite news |title=Six unexpected WW1 battlegrounds |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-30098000 |access-date=24 January 2016 |work=BBC News |date=26 November 2014}}</ref> Plagues became less common in the 20th century, but they continue to occur when the conditions are met.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/02/locust-plague-climate-science-east-africa/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200216120605/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/02/locust-plague-climate-science-east-africa |url-status=dead |archive-date=16 February 2020 |title=A plague of locusts has descended on East Africa. Climate change may be to blame |last=Stone |first=Madeleine |date=14 February 2020 |website=National Geographic |access-date=9 March 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Ahmed |first=Kaamil |url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/mar/20/locust-crisis-poses-a-danger-to-millions-forecasters-warn|title=Locust crisis poses a danger to millions, forecasters warn |date=20 March 2020 |work=The Guardian |access-date=2020-03-21}}</ref> === Monitoring === [[File:Eugenio Morales en el Sáhara Español (1942).jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Eugenio Morales Agacino]] on expedition monitoring locusts in the desert of [[Spanish Sahara]], 1942]] Early intervention to prevent large locust swarms is more successful than later action once swarms have built up. The means to control locust populations is now available, but organisational, financial, and political problems may be difficult to overcome. Monitoring is the key to early detection and eradication. Ideally, a sufficient proportion of nomadic bands can be killed with insecticide before their swarming phase. This may be possible in richer countries like Morocco and Saudi Arabia, but neighbouring poorer countries such as [[Mauritania]] and [[Yemen]] lack the resources and may breed locust swarms that threaten the whole region.<ref name=Showler/> Several organisations around the world monitor the threat from locusts. They provide forecasts detailing regions likely to suffer from locust plagues in the near future. In Australia, this service is provided by the [[Australian Plague Locust Commission]].<ref name="Role">{{cite web |url=http://www.daff.gov.au/animal-plant-health/locusts/role |title=Role of the Australian Plague Locust Commission |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=14 June 2011 |website=Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries |publisher=Commonwealth of Australia |access-date=2 April 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715013827/http://daff.gov.au/animal-plant-health/locusts/role |archive-date=15 July 2014 }}</ref> It has been very successful in dealing with developing outbreaks, but has the great advantage of having a defined area to monitor and defend without locust invasions from elsewhere.<ref name=Krall>{{cite book |author1=Krall, S.|author2=Peveling, R.|author3=Diallo, B.D. |title=New Strategies in Locust Control |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s6ndBQiTiRAC |year=1997 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=978-3-7643-5442-8 |pages=4–6}}</ref> In Central and Southern Africa, the service is provided by the International Locust Control Organization for Central and Southern Africa.<ref name=FAOTanzania>{{cite web|title=Red Locust disaster in Eastern Africa prevented|url=http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/21084/icode/|publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization|access-date=1 April 2015|date=24 June 2009|archive-date=22 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220322192624/https://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/21084/icode/|url-status=dead}}</ref> In West and Northwest Africa, the service is co-ordinated by the [[Food and Agriculture Organization]]'s Commission for Controlling the Desert Locust in the Western Region, and executed by locust control agencies belonging to each country concerned.<ref>{{cite web|title=Countries take responsibility for regional desert locust control|url=http://www.fao.org/in-action/countries-take-responsibility-for-regional-desert-locust-control/en/|publisher=FAO|access-date=2 April 2015|date=2015}}</ref> The FAO monitors the situation in the Caucasus and Central Asia, where over 25 million hectares of cultivated land are under threat.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fao.org/ag/locusts-CCA/en/1010/ |title=Locusts in Caucasus and Central Asia |work=Locust Watch |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization |access-date=2 April 2015}}</ref> In February 2020, in an effort to end massive locust outbreaks, India decided to use drones and special equipment to monitor locusts and spray insecticides.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-locusts-idUSKBN20D1X9 |title=India buys drones, specialist equipment to avert new locust attack |date=2020-02-19 |work=Reuters |access-date=2020-02-20 |language=en}}</ref> === Control === Historically, people could do little to protect their crops from locusts, although eating the insects may have been some compensation. By the early 20th century, efforts were made to disrupt the development of the insects by cultivating the soil where eggs were laid, collecting hoppers with catching machines, killing them with flamethrowers, trapping them in ditches, and crushing them with rollers and other mechanical methods.<ref name=Krall453/> By the 1950s, the [[organochloride]] [[dieldrin]] was found to be an extremely effective insecticide, but it was later banned in most countries because of its [[Persistent organic pollutant|persistence in the environment]] and its [[bioaccumulation|accumulation]] in the [[food chain]].<ref name=Krall453/> In years when locust control is needed, the hoppers are targeted early by applying water-based contact [[pesticide]]s from tractor-based sprayers. This is effective but slow and labour-intensive; a preferable method is spraying concentrated insecticide from aircraft over the insects or vegetation.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fao.org/ag/locusts-CCA/en/1013/ |title=Control |work=Locusts in Caucasus and Central Asia |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization |access-date=2 April 2015}}</ref> The use of ultralow-volume spraying of contact pesticides from aircraft in overlapping swathes is effective against nomadic bands and can be used to treat large areas of land swiftly.<ref name=Krall/> Other modern technologies for planning locust control include [[Global Positioning System|GPS]], [[Geographic information system|GIS tools]], and [[satellite imagery]] with rapid computer data management and analysis.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ceccato|first1=Pietro |title=Operational Early Warning System Using Spot-Vegetation And Terra-Modis To Predict Desert Locust Outbreaks |url=http://iri.columbia.edu/~pceccato/Public-Desert-Locust/Ceccato_full.pdf |publisher=[[Food and Agriculture Organization]]|access-date=5 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140510014559/http://iri.columbia.edu/~pceccato/Public-Desert-Locust/Ceccato_full.pdf |archive-date=10 May 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Latchininsky |first1=Alexandre V. |last2=Sivanpillai |first2=Ramesh |title=Locust Habitat Monitoring And Risk Assessment Using Remote Sensing And GIS Technologies |url=http://www.uwyo.edu/esm/faculty-and-staff/latchininsky/documents/2010-latchininsky-sivanpillai-springer.pdf |publisher=University of Wyoming |date=2010 |access-date=5 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151230005049/http://www.uwyo.edu/esm/faculty-and-staff/latchininsky/documents/2010-latchininsky-sivanpillai-springer.pdf |archive-date=30 December 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref> A [[biological pesticide]] to control locusts was tested across Africa by a multinational team in 1997.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Lomer, C.J. |author2=Bateman, R.P. |author3=Johnson, D.L. |author4=Langewald, J. |author5=Thomas, M. |year=2001 |title=Biological Control of Locusts and Grasshoppers |journal=Annual Review of Entomology |volume=46 |pages=667–702 |doi=10.1146/annurev.ento.46.1.667 |pmid=11112183 |s2cid=7267727 |url=https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/cd09/2d6bcac45d4337866ce41318fcf79505ac79.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108063235/https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/cd09/2d6bcac45d4337866ce41318fcf79505ac79.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=2020-11-08 }}</ref> Dried fungal spores of a ''[[Metarhizium acridum]]'' sprayed in breeding areas pierce the locust exoskeleton on germination and invade the body cavity, causing death.<ref name="Bateman ''et al.'' (1993)">{{cite journal |last1=Bateman |first1=R. P. |last2=Carey |first2=M. |last3=Moore |first3=D. |last4=Prior |first4=C. |title=The enhanced infectivity of Metarhizium flavoviride in oil formulations to desert locusts at low humidities |journal=Annals of Applied Biology |volume=122 |issue=1 |date=1993 |issn=0003-4746 |doi=10.1111/j.1744-7348.1993.tb04022.x |pages=145–152}}</ref> The fungus is passed from insect to insect and persists in the area, making repeated treatments unnecessary.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Thomas M.B., Gbongboui C., Lomer C.J. |date=1996 |title=Between-season survival of the grasshopper pathogen ''Metarhizium flavoviride'' in the Sahel |journal=Biocontrol Science and Technology |volume=6 |issue=4 |pages=569–573 |doi=10.1080/09583159631208 |bibcode=1996BioST...6..569T }}</ref> This approach to locust control was used in Tanzania in 2009 to treat around 10,000 hectares in the Iku-Katavi National Park infested with adult locusts. The outbreak was contained without harm to the local [[elephant]]s, [[hippopotamus]]es, and [[giraffe]]s.<ref name=FAOTanzania/> <gallery mode=packed heights=160> File:Flaming Locusts in 1915.jpg|Preparing to flame [[1915 Palestine locust infestation|locusts in Palestine]], 1915 File:Cessna spraying red locusts in Iku Katavi NP.jpg|[[Cessna]] of the International Red Locust Control Organization spraying [[red locust]]s in Iku Katavi National Park, Tanzania, 2009 File:CSIRO ScienceImage 1367 Locusts attacked by the fungus Metarhizium.jpg|Locusts killed by the naturally occurring fungus ''[[Metarhizium]]'', an environmentally friendly means of biological control<ref>{{cite web |title=CSIRO ScienceImage 1367 Locusts attacked by the fungus Metarhizium |url=http://www.scienceimage.csiro.au/image/1367 |publisher=CSIRO |access-date=1 April 2015}}</ref> </gallery> === As experimental models === The locust is large and easy to breed and rear, and is used as an experimental model in research studies. It has been used in evolutionary biology research and to test the generalizability of conclusions reached about test organisms such as the [[Drosophila|fruit fly]] (''Drosophila'') and the [[housefly]] (''Musca'').<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kellogg |first1=Elizabeth A. |last2=Shaffer |first2=H. Bradley |year=1993 |title=Model Organisms in Evolutionary Studies |journal=Systematic Biology |volume=42 |issue=4 |pages=409–414 |doi=10.2307/2992481 |jstor=2992481 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Andersson |first1=Olga |last2=Hansen |first2=Steen Honoré |last3=Hellman |first3=Karin |last4=Olsen |first4=Line Rørbæk |last5=Andersson |first5=Gunnar |last6=Badolo |first6=Lassina |last7=Svenstrup |first7=Niels |last8=Nielsen |first8=Peter Aadal |title=The Grasshopper: A Novel Model for Assessing Vertebrate Brain Uptake |journal=Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics |volume=346 |issue=2 |date=2013 |issn=0022-3565 |doi=10.1124/jpet.113.205476 |pages=211–218|pmid=23671124 }}</ref> It is a suitable school laboratory animal because of its robustness and ease of breeding and handling.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Scott |first=Jon |title=The locust jump: an integrated laboratory investigation |journal=Advances in Physiology Education |date=March 2005 |volume=29 |issue=1 |pages=21–26 |doi=10.1152/advan.00037.2004 |quote=The relative size and robustness of the locust make it simple to handle and ideal for such investigations. |pmid=15718379 |s2cid=27101536 |url=http://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/6ba9/b988f2edb5729c81cf3ba2bce009b444a24e.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190226094312/http://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/6ba9/b988f2edb5729c81cf3ba2bce009b444a24e.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=2019-02-26 }}</ref> At [[Tel Aviv University]], scientists have been using the antennae's acute sensitivity of [[Sense of smell]] to detect different odors in various technologies.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Israeli scientists develop sniffing robot with locust antennae |website=[[Reuters]] |url=https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/science/israeli-scientists-develop-sniffing-robot-with-locust-antennae-2023-02-06/ |access-date=2024-02-19}}</ref> === As food === {{See also|Kosher locust}} [[File:Skewered locusts.jpg|thumb|upright|Skewered locusts in [[Beijing]], China]] Locusts have been used [[insects as food|as food]] throughout history. They are considered meat. Several cultures throughout the world [[entomophagy|consume insects]], and locusts are considered a delicacy in many African, Middle Eastern, and Asian countries.<ref>{{Cite journal |url=http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Publications/ZooGoer/2005/4/edibleinsects.cfm |title=Edible Insects |last=Fromme |first=Alison |journal=[[Smithsonian Zoogoer]] |publisher=[[Smithsonian Institution]] |year=2005 |volume=34 |issue=4 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051111041211/http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Publications/ZooGoer/2005/4/edibleinsects.cfm|archive-date=11 November 2005 |access-date=26 April 2015}}</ref> They can be cooked in many ways, but are often fried, smoked, or dried.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.livestrong.com/article/549444-the-nutritional-value-of-locusts/ |title=The Nutritional Value of Locusts |author=Dubois, Sirah |date=24 October 2011 |publisher=Livestrong.com |access-date=12 April 2015}}</ref> The [[Bible]] records that [[John the Baptist]] ate locusts and wild honey ({{langx|el|ἀκρίδες καὶ μέλι ἄγριον|akrídes kaì méli ágrion}}) while living in the wilderness.<ref>Gospel of Mark Mark 1:6; Gospel of Matthew 3:4</ref> Attempts have been made to explain the text to mean [[Asceticism|ascetic]] [[Vegetarianism|vegetarian]] food such as [[carob|carob beans]], but the plain meaning of the Greek ''akrides'' is locust.<ref>{{cite web |last=Brock |first=Sebastian |title=St. John the Baptist's diet – according to some early Eastern Christian sources |url=https://www.sjc.ox.ac.uk/3763/John-the-Baptists-Diet.pdf.download |publisher=St John's College, Oxford |access-date=4 May 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924102311/http://www.sjc.ox.ac.uk/3763/John-the-Baptists-Diet.pdf.download |archive-date=24 September 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kelhoffer |first1=James A. |title=Did John the Baptist eat like a former Essene? Locust-eating in the ancient Near East and at Qumran |journal=Dead Sea Discoveries |year=2004 |volume=11 |issue=3 |pages=293–314 |quote=There is no reason, however, to question the plausibility of Mark 1:6c, that John regularly ate these foods while in the wilderness. |doi=10.1163/1568517042643756 |jstor=4193332|url=http://uu.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:385556/FULLTEXT02 }}</ref> The [[Torah]] prohibits the use of most insects as food, but it permits consuming certain types of locust; specifically, those that are red, yellow, or spotted grey.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ohr.edu/ask_db/ask_main.php/19/Q1/ |title=Are locusts really Kosher?! « Ask The Rabbi « Ohr Somayach |publisher=Ohr.edu |access-date=12 April 2015}}</ref><ref name=hebblethwaite>{{cite news |title=Eating locusts: The crunchy, kosher snack taking Israel by swarm |author=Hebblethwaite, Cordelia |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21847517 |newspaper=BBC News: Magazine |date=21 March 2013}}</ref> [[fiqh|Islamic jurisprudence]] deems eating locusts to be [[halal]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.shariahprogram.ca/eat-halal-foods/fiqh-halal-haraam-animals.shtml |title=The Fiqh of Halal and Haram Animals |publisher=Shariahprogram.ca |access-date=12 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924101138/http://www.shariahprogram.ca/eat-halal-foods/fiqh-halal-haraam-animals.shtml |archive-date=24 September 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=hebblethwaite/> The Prophet [[Muhammad]] was reported to have eaten locusts during a military raid with his companions.<ref>{{cite book |title=Bukhari |at=Volume 7, Book 67 |chapter=Hunting, Slaughtering |url=http://i-cias.com/textarchive/bukhari/067.htm |access-date=8 November 2016 |quote=403: Narrated Ibn Abi Aufa: We participated with the Prophet in six or seven Ghazawat, and we used to eat locusts with him. |archive-date=3 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160603234224/http://i-cias.com/textarchive/bukhari/067.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> Locusts are eaten in the [[Arabian Peninsula]], including Saudi Arabia.<ref name="al-jazirah.com">{{cite web |title=من المدخرات الغذائية في الماضي "الجراد" |url=http://www.al-jazirah.com/2001/20011202/wo1.htm|website=www.al-jazirah.com |publisher=Al-Jazirah Newspaper |access-date=8 November 2016 |date=2 December 2001}}</ref> In 2014, consumption of locusts spiked around [[Ramadan]] especially in the [[Al-Qassim Region]], since many Saudis believe they are healthy to eat, but the Saudi Ministry of Health warned that pesticides made them unsafe.<ref>{{cite web |title=سوق الجراد في بريدة يشهد تداولات كبيرة والزراعة تحذرمن التسمم |url=http://www.ajel.sa/local/1466546|website=صحيفة عاجل الإلكترونية |access-date=8 November 2016 |date=11 December 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160611183839/http://www.ajel.sa/local/1466546 |archive-date=11 June 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.arabnews.com/news/447002 |title=People told not to eat pesticide-laced locusts |newspaper=Arab News |date=4 April 2013 |access-date=8 January 2016}}</ref> [[Yemenis]] also consume locusts, and expressed discontent over governmental plans to use pesticides against them.<ref>{{cite web |author1=أحلام الهمداني |title=اليمن تكافح الجراد بـ400 مليون واليمنيون مستاءون من (قطع الأرزاق) |url=http://www.nabanews.net/news/7921 |website=www.nabanews.net|publisher=نبأ نيوز |access-date=8 November 2016 |date=5 March 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160601093524/http://www.nabanews.net/news/7921 |archive-date=1 June 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref> ʻAbd al-Salâm Shabînî described a locust recipe from Morocco.<ref name="Shabeeny1820">{{cite book |author=El Hage Abd Salam Shabeeny |title=An account of Timbuctoo and Housa: Territories in the interior of Africa |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LYNOAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA222 |year=1820 |pages=222–|isbn=9781613106907 }}</ref> 19th century European travellers observed Arabs in Arabia, Egypt, and Morocco selling, cooking, and eating locusts.<ref name="Robinson1835">{{cite book |author=Robinson, Edward |title=A Dictionary of the Holy Bible, for the Use of Schools and Young Persons |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mJE4AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA192 |year=1835 |publisher=Crocker and Brewster |pages=192ff}}</ref> They reported that in Egypt and Palestine locusts were consumed, and that in Palestine, around the River Jordan, in Egypt, in Arabia, and in Morocco that Arabs ate locusts, while Syrian peasants did not eat locusts.<ref name="Calmet1832">{{cite book |author=Augustin Calmet |title=Dictionary of the Holy Bible by Charles Taylor |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A5pBAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA605 |year=1832 |publisher=Holdsworth and Ball |pages=604–605}}</ref> In the Haouran region, [[Fellah]]s who were in poverty and suffered from famine ate locusts after removing the guts and head, while locusts were swallowed whole by Bedouins.<ref name="Calmet1832 1">{{cite book |author=Calmet, Augustin |title=Dictionary of the Holy Bible |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v1ga4m9vIhYC&pg=PA635 |year=1832 |publisher=Crocker and Brewster |pages=635ff|isbn=9781404787964 }}</ref> Syrians, Copts, Greeks, Armenians, and other Christians and Arabs themselves reported that in Arabia locusts were eaten frequently and one Arab described to a European traveler the different types of locusts which were favored as food by Arabs.<ref>{{cite book |author=Burder, Samuel|author-link=Samuel Burder |title=Oriental Literature, Applied to the Illustration of the Sacred Scriptures – especially with reference to antiquties, traditions, and manners (etc.) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SJhgAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA213 |year=1822 |publisher=Longman, Hurst |page=213}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=... Description of Arabia made from Personal Observations and Information Collected on the Spot |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fYFDAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA57 |year=1889 |pages=57ff |last=Niebuhr |first=Carsten}}</ref> Persians use the [[Anti-Arabism in Iran|Anti-Arab]] racial slur ''Arabe malakh-khor'' ({{langx|fa|عرب ملخ خور}}, literally "locust eater Arab") against Arabs.<ref name="Rahimieh2015">{{cite book |author=Rahimieh, Nasrin |title=Iranian Culture: Representation and identity |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JtpzCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA133 |year=2015 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-42935-7 |pages=133ff}}</ref><ref name="economist1">{{cite magazine |date=5 May 2012 |title=Persians v. Arabs: Same old sneers. Nationalist feeling on both sides of the Gulf is as prickly as ever |url=http://www.economist.com/node/21554238 |magazine=[[The Economist]]}} {{cite web |title=article on ''highbeam.com'' |date=5 May 2012 |url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-288523054.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181127022449/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-288523054.html |archive-date=2018-11-27}}</ref><ref name="Majd2008">{{cite book |author=Majd, Hooman |title=The Ayatollah Begs to Differ: The paradox of modern Iran |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1kuSfuHovwMC&pg=PA165 |date=23 September 2008 |publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-385-52842-9 |pages=165ff}}</ref> Locusts yield about five times more edible [[protein]] per unit of [[fodder]] than cattle, and produce lower levels of [[greenhouse gas]]es in the process.<ref>''[[Global Steak]] – Demain nos enfants mangeront des criquets'' (2010 French documentary).</ref> The [[feed conversion rate]] of orthopterans is 1.7 kg/kg,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Collavo |first1=A. |last2=Glew |first2=R. H. |last3=Huang |first3=Y.S. |last4=Chuang |first4=L.T. |last5=Bosse |first5=R. |last6=Paoletti |first6=M.G. |editor-last=Paoletti |editor-first=M.G. |title=Ecological implications of mini-livestock: Potential of insects, rodents, frogs, and snails |publisher=Science Publishers |year=2005 |location=New Hampshire |pages=519–544 |chapter=House cricket small-scale farming}}</ref> while for beef it is typically about 10 kg/kg.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Smil |first=V. |date=2002 |title=Worldwide transformation of diets, burdens of meat production and opportunities for novel food proteins |journal=Enzyme and Microbial Technology |volume=30 |issue=3 |pages=305–311 |doi=10.1016/s0141-0229(01)00504-x}}</ref> The protein content in fresh weight is between 13 and 28 g / 100 g for adult locust, 14–18 g / 100 g for larvae, as compared to 19–26 g / 100 g for beef.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fao.org/infoods/infoods/tables-and-databases/en/ |title=Composition database for Biodiversity |edition=Version 2, BioFoodComp2 |publisher=FAO |date=10 January 2013 |access-date=1 April 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Nutritional value of insects for human consumption |url=http://www.fao.org/docrep/018/i3253e/i3253e06.pdf |publisher=FAO |access-date=1 April 2015 |archive-date=4 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190204211732/http://www.fao.org/docrep/018/i3253e/i3253e06.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> The calculated [[protein efficiency ratio]] is low, with 1.69 for locust protein compared to 2.5 for standard casein.<ref name=AT/> A serving of 100 g of desert locust provides 11.5 g of fat, 53.5% of which is unsaturated, and 286 mg of cholesterol.<ref name=AT>{{cite journal |last1=Abul-Tarboush |first1=Hamza M. |last2=Al-Kahtani |first2=Hassan A. |last3=Aldryhim |first3=Yousif N. |last4=Asif |first4=Mohammed |date=16 December 2010 |title=Desert locust (''Schistocercsa gregaria''): Proximate composition, physiochemcial characteristics of lipids, fatty acids, and cholesterol contents and nutritional value of protein |url=http://repository.ksu.edu.sa/jspui/handle/123456789/9701 |format=Article |journal=College of Foods and Agricultural Science |publisher=King Saud University |access-date=21 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150122001451/http://repository.ksu.edu.sa/jspui/handle/123456789/9701 |archive-date=22 January 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Among the fatty acids, [[palmitoleic acid|palmitoleic]], [[oleic acid|oleic]], and [[linolenic acid|linolenic]] acids were found to be the most abundant. Varying amounts of potassium, sodium, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, iron, and zinc were present.<ref name=AT/> == See also == * [[Australian Plague Locust Commission]] * [[List of locust swarms]] * [[Locust (ethnic slur)]] * [[LUBILOSA]] – Locust research programme * [[Periodical cicadas]] ==Notes== {{Notelist}} ==References== {{Reflist|30em}} ==External links== {{wiktionary}} {{Commons category|Locusta}} {{EB1911 poster|Locust}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20120103093939/http://richannel.org/the-christmas-lectures-2011--locusts Visual neuron of the locust], Ri Channel video, October 2011 * [http://www.fao.org/ag/locusts/en/info/info/index.html FAO Locust Watch] * [http://www.fao.org/AG/AGAINFO/programmes/en/empres/home.asp FAO EMPRES] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100320233905/http://www.fao.org/ag/againfo/programmes/en/empres/home.asp |date=20 March 2010 }} * [http://www.fao.org/ag/locusts/en/activ/DLIS/eL3suite/index.html FAO eLocust3e suite] * [https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=plantvillage.locustsurvey&hl=en eLocust3M android app] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20070106131148/http://www.ibimet.cnr.it/Case/sahel/infocus.php?page=mpp_main&cat=mpp Desert Locust Meteorological Monitoring at Sahel Resources] * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6opjbuMd5k Locust Video] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20130825105751/http://www.encapafrica.org/documents/PEA_pestmanagement/ERITREA_LG_SEA_MAR93.doc USAID Supplemental Environmental Assessment of the Eritrean Locust Control Program ] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20120313051327/http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNACA011.pdf USAID Supplemental Environmental Assessment: Pakistan Locust Control Programs, August 1993] * {{YouTube|id=aCE4bF_DI70|title=footage}} * [http://www.hearthstonelegacy.com/when-the-skies-turned-to-black-the_locust-plague-of-1875.htm When The Skies Turned To Black, The Locust Plague of 1875] {{Authority control}} [[Category:Locusts|Locusts]] [[Category:Biological hazards]] [[Category:Edible insects]] [[Category:Insect rearing]] [[Category:Insects in culture]] [[Category:Insect common names]]
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