What Happened to the Locusts?

password4321 3 hours ago | parent | next [-]

A nice weekend read that doesn't smell like AI but if you're short on time or interest:

Though the locusts had a huge migratory range stretching all the way to the eastern seaboard, its reproductive range was only a handful of river valleys in Wyoming and Montana. Once plowed, irrigated and trampled by livestock the species had nowhere left to lay eggs.

	▲	pimlottc 14 minutes ago \| parent \| next [-]
		This answers the title question but the most interesting part about the article is the fascinating way in which the locust’s behavior is triggered by crowding. An amazing biological adaption. It’s well-worth reading the whole thing.
	▲	Aboutplants an hour ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		I immediately thought of how destroying the Monarch Butterfly wintering grounds in Mexico would have the same impact on Monarchs.

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daoboy 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

My earliest introduction to locusts was as a biblical plague. These Sunday school lessons did not include pictures. I always imagined some twisted diminutive demonic swarm of insects, and was disappointed to finally discover they were just grasshoppers.

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jezzamon 13 minutes ago | parent | next [-]

I have been in a locust plague once. It does feel very weird. Yes they are grasshoppers but you might be underestimating just how many there are. Plus they don't look normal, they actually change appearance when they're in a plague.

One small detail I remember was when the sun was just behind a building, you could see this glow around the building which was the sun reflecting off all the locusts that were flying around it

	▲	TaupeRanger a minute ago \| parent [-]
		One locust is an interesting bug. Billions of locusts are an apocalyptic nightmare.

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themgt 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

> I always imagined some twisted diminutive demonic swarm of insects

Behavioral ecologist Stephen Simpson has proposed the cannibalistic forced march hypothesis[36], that is, the forward motion of a locust swarm is essentially sustained by each individual’s imperative to avoid being eaten by the locust behind it: 1) Align their body axis with neighbors (parallel) to minimize the chances of a side-on attack and present their narrowest possible profile to the individual behind. 2) March forward to bite and feed on the abdomen of the locust immediately ahead.

A billion crazed insects marching through eating all your crops while cannibalizing each other does seem relatively twisted and demonic.

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hagbard_c an hour ago | parent | prev [-]

Put them under a microscope at 10-40 times magnification and you've got your demons. Claws and hooks and fang-like attachments everywhere, faceted eyes, crusty exterior. The western image of demons was partly derived from insectoid creatures by painters like Hieronymus Bosch so it makes sense for insects to look demonic.

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dnnddidiej 36 minutes ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Trigger warning: animated insect crawls on screen.

	▲	torben-friis 19 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		Yes, this should be higher. I fucking hated that.

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swiftcoder 29 minutes ago | parent | prev | next [-]

> All of these triggers cause a release of serotonin. This serotonin release triggers the physical transformation

Locusts are just grasshoppers on prozac?

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card_zero an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Is it really true about the unpalatable chickens? Every mention of "caloptine" that I can find is from 1878, and derives from the annual Report of the United States entomological commission, which expressed hope of making commercial locust products, mainly formic acid. That entomological comission is the cited Charles Riley. Nobody ever seems to mention the substance again.

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skywhopper an hour ago | parent [-]

Took a few clicks to track down source 10: https://history.nebraska.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/doc_..., which in turn cites this book: https://www.amazon.com/Locust-Devastating-Mysterious-Disappe...

On that page you can click “read sample” and then search for “chicken” and the reference on page 3 seems to be the main source of that claim. Where that is quoting, I’m not sure.

	▲	card_zero 14 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		Thanks! So the connection between the tainted taste (source on that still unknown) and this essential oil of locust is just Lockwood spitballing: > Although the insects had no defensive chemicals in their bodies, a diet saturated with locusts rendered the eggs and flesh of chickens inedible. Studies at the time found that the locusts were remarkably rich in a “reddish-brown oil of very pungent and penetrating odor,” and perhaps this accounts for the tainted meat. They were not "rich" in this oil: https://archive.org/details/firstanuualrepor01unit/page/442/... Oil, .004 percent. Still, a little oil can go a long way, so perhaps.

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jeremytarpley an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Great article. I'm also impressed by the design of the webpage itself. Love the typography and clever UI.

	▲	cbdevidal an hour ago \| parent [-]
		The jumping grasshoppers at the bottom really surprised me :-)

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alserio 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Nice Easter egg

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kasperset 2 hours ago | parent [-]

I almost jumped. Nice touch to the article

	▲	jcgrillo 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		For a split second I thought there was an actual bug on my phone. It was an excellent article too!

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archermarks an hour ago | parent | prev [-]

Really interesting article! I knew about the phase polyphenism but the forced cannibalistic march theory was new to me.