Gregarious adults and solitary hoppers

October 18, 2004 6:01 PM

Tracking African locust swarms - a rainy winter and spring in northwestern Africa promised a rich harvest for area farmers, but instead has brought plagues of ravaging locusts...
"Swarms of locusts can contain as many as 80 million locusts per square kilometer...a small part of a typical swarm can eat as much food as 2,500 people in a single day."
posted by tpl1212 (3 comments total)

Of note: locust outbreak photos and videos...
posted by tpl1212 at 6:04 PM on October 18, 2004

Thanks, tpl. This is fascinating stuff, something most of us will only see in horror movies.
posted by Shane at 7:46 AM on October 19, 2004

Anyone know if locusts are poisonous? That's a massive source of protien even if you only feed it to livestock.
posted by Mitheral at 8:21 AM on October 19, 2004