Astro Hacker News - What Happened to the Locusts?

password4321 |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 |root |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.

knollimar |root |parent [-]

It was until the animated insects. I threw my phone

AndrewKemendo |root |parent [-]

This was exactly my response

Aboutplants |root |parent |previous [-]

I immediately thought of how destroying the Monarch Butterfly wintering grounds in Mexico would have the same impact on Monarchs.

delichon |root |parent [-]

I disapprove of eminent domain but this is a great steelman case for it.

mapmeld |next |previous [-]

I highly recommend one of the books cited in this article (Jeffrey A. Lockwood's Locust). He writes about hiking to the glacier to find preserved locusts, the formation of the Entomological Commission which discovered that existing anti-locust practices were ineffective, all sorts of details.

daoboy |next |previous [-]

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.

jezzamon |root |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 |root |parent [-]

One locust is an interesting bug. Billions of locusts are an apocalyptic nightmare.

themgt |root |parent |next |previous [-]

> 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.

hagbard_c |root |parent |previous [-]

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.

dnnddidiej |next |previous [-]

Trigger warning: animated insect crawls on screen.

marcosdumay |root |parent |next [-]

Seems to be changed now. The grasshoppers are now static until you click on them.

Or maybe it's my browser.

acomjean |root |parent [-]

I think it’s just your browser. They got me.. just enough off the main text to give a little jump..

|root |parent |next |previous [-]

sovietswag |root |parent |next |previous [-]

Scared the shit out of me!!!!! Lmfao

torben-friis |root |parent |previous [-]

Yes, this should be higher. I fucking hated that.

cubefox |root |parent [-]

I liked it. You can tap on them and they hop.

card_zero |next |previous [-]

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.

skywhopper |root |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 |root |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.

jeremytarpley |next |previous [-]

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

marking-time |root |parent |next [-]

Loved the design and the grasshopper had me pawing at my screen to make it go away!

cbdevidal |root |parent |previous [-]

The jumping grasshoppers at the bottom really surprised me :-)

swiftcoder |root |parent [-]

They are interactive too!

alserio |next |previous [-]

Nice Easter egg

kasperset |root |parent [-]

I almost jumped. Nice touch to the article

jcgrillo |root |parent [-]

For a split second I thought there was an actual bug on my phone. It was an excellent article too!

archermarks |next |previous [-]

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

swiftcoder |next |previous [-]

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

Locusts are just grasshoppers on prozac?

PaulDavisThe1st |root |parent [-]

Prozac is a Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor. It is not serotonin, and it does not cause the release of serotonin.