In 1876, the U.S. Congress declared the locust “the single greatest impediment to the settlement of the country between Mississippi and the Rocky Mountains.” Throughout the nineteenth century, swarms of locusts regularly swept across the American continent, turning noon into dusk, devastating farm communities, and bringing trains to a halt. The outbreaks subsided in the 1890s, and then, suddenly—and mysteriously—the Rocky Mountain locust vanished. A century later, entomologist Jeffrey Lockwood vowed to discover why.Locust is the story of how one insect shaped the history of the western United States. A compelling personal narrative drawing on historical accounts and modern science, this beautifully written book brings to life the cultural, economic, and political forces at work in America in the late nineteenth century, even as it solves one of the greatest extinction mysteries of our time.

Amazon.com Review
Imagine looking up to see an ominous black cloud on the horizon. Now imagine your growing horror as you watch that cloud reveal itself as an immense, miles-wide swarm of ravenous insects. In Locust, entomologist Jeffrey A. Lockwood reveals the bizarre history of a bug responsible for killing countless settlers on the American plains. First-hand accounts of the Rocky Mountain locust's horrific depredations are reproduced in the book, and Lockwood adds his own vivid reconstructions:

We expect grasshoppers and locusts to consume our gardens and fields, but when these insects begin to feed on fabric and flesh something seems demonically amiss.... Although the settlers may have been astonished by the locusts' voracity, they were appalled by the insects' fierce cannibalism.

Swarms of locusts would touch down like tornadoes on homesteads and farms, stripping away every growing thing and desperately eating other insects in search of much-needed fat and protein. These hordes were thought by many, including the Mormon settlers in Utah, to be divine punishments, or at least signs from above. After describing the effects this insect had on the American frontier, Lockwood delves into the entomologic mystery of the locusts' abrupt disappearance. Had they become extinct? Or gone into hiding in some ecological refuge? When Lockwood abandons history for science, his glee for his subject keeps the book moving, albeit slower than in the first few chapters. --Therese Littleton

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.0 based on 13 reviews)

I know what happened to the locust

History tells us what happened to the locust in 1877, but it is history that is denied by many because they do not believe the facts. Because of the destruction from the locust the summer before, the governor of Minnesota, Governor John S. Pillsbury, proclaimed April 26 as a day of fasting and prayer. The next morning the weather turned very warm and the locust appeared. Three days passed and the unseasonable heat caused a vast army of locust to hatch out. Then, on the fourth day the temperature plunged to freezing temperatures and the locust were killed before they could breed. God answered prayer and destroyed the locust. We can surely say God blessed America.
January 14, 2008

Terror in the Sky

In the 19th century swarms of locusts regularly devastated the farms in the West. Some wondered if it was divine punishment or personal failures. The Federal Government established a commission to study the problem. A few decades later the Rocky Mountain locust disappeared like an extinct species. Jeffrey Lockwood decided to investigate this long-lost pest and try to solve this ecological mystery. The `Introduction' describes a plague of locusts in July 1875 Nebraska. One famous account is in Laura Ingalls Wilder' book "On the Banks of Plum Creek". Once the locusts laid their eggs a new plague would erupt the next year, and the year afterwards. Chapter 1 tells of the diseases of the 19th century: cholera, lice and typhus, parasitical worms. Famine and hunger were real threats. While poultry feasted on locusts, this left their flesh and eggs inedible. Turkey gorged themselves to death. The stench from dead locusts created a problem. Locusts cannibalized the wounded or dead. The people were terrorized by these events. Hot dry weather made locusts flourish (p.22). The low-level jet stream spread them for hundreds of miles (p.23).

Chapter 4 tells of the methods used to destroy locusts. One of the simplest was a ditch; the little locusts fell in but couldn't get out (p.54). Dead locusts were used to fertilize root crops (p.55). Farmers diversified into corn, peas, and beans from just the vulnerable wheat. Livestock grazed the grasslands and denied these lands to locusts. Native birds consumed great numbers of locusts (p.58). The Rocky Mountain locust was a national threat because it caused economic havoc (Chapter 5). In those days Darwinian theory blamed the victims for their problems (pp.65-67)! Some states gave aid to the devastated counties (p.68). States offered a bounty for eggs and nymphs (p.72), and called upon Washington for federal disaster funds (p.75). The US Entomological Commission was funded to study the locust problem (p.91). Increasing mobility of people also spread insects, weeds, and pathogens. Chapter 7 tells of this Commission, who discovered the uniqueness of the Rocky Mountain locust. Their destruction was best done by destroying eggs (p.114). They also recommended the a diversified agriculture. After the locusts disappeared they were replaced with grasshoppers (p.130). They were as damaging as the dust storms of the 1930s. But the Rocky Mountain locust became extinct (p.137).

Chapter 9 tells how Boris Uvarov described the changes in locusts as phases (pp.146-147). [Does this explain crime and violence in city life?] The spread of alfalfa was followed by the disappearance of locusts (p.160). Could a warming climate have ended the locusts (p.170)? Forested areas were a barrier to locusts (p.177). The disappearance of bison was followed by the disappearance of locusts (p.179). Chapter 11 tells of the Grasshopper Glacier north of Yellowstone National Park. Modern science could reveal unknown facts about locusts (p.184). Chapter 12 tells how melting glaciers provide water for agriculture (p.210). Lockwood imagines swarms of locusts carried north by winds. Falling temperatures then killed them and encased them in ice (p.214). Curved lines across the width of glaciers marked annual deposits of ice; this showed locusts going back 300 years, long before settlers arrived. A high degree of inbreeding and narrowing genetic diversity leads to extinction (p.223). This was not the case of the Rocky Mountain locusts. "Extinction happened suddenly and without warning to a normal, healthy species" (p.224). There was a great influx of people after the financial panic of 1873. Crop land displaced the living areas of locusts. The irrigation of land by settlers destroyed locust eggs (p.242). Alfalfa could not be eaten by young locusts (p.243). Plowing and harrowing destroyed locust eggs (p.246). Grazing cattle affected vegetation and streams (p.247). The resulting flooding killed locust eggs (p.248), as did the rooting and tramping of cattle (p.249). People were also menaced by financiers (p.253).

Lockwood's theory on the extinction was published in a 1990 journal. Chapter 14 concludes with remarks on other species. Species are being lost faster that the "normal" rate of extinction [not defined here]. Lockwood wonders if the elimination of the Rocky Mountain locust could have been "the result of unplanned, uncoordinated, and unintentional human activity" (p.260)? No, the prior pages tell how this was accomplished. Could this locust have survived in some refuge (p.261)? This is a very rich book that can't be adequately summarized here. It is another argument against the Darwinian theory of evolution which denies cataclysmal changes. Lockwood seemed to have failed to research old publications from the 1880s-1900s to discover what they said about locusts. Arguing for an unplanned extinction may have a political motive.

September 20, 2006

Why no maps?

I actually really like the book and would normally be happy giving it 5 stars. But, I couldn't figure out why he didn't include any actual quantitative information. No maps. No tables. He mentions a couple of times how good the maps were in the original reports he uses as references, but he doesn't include any of them (except once as a small chapter opening illustration). Even just an inside cover map of the Permanent Zone and the range of the Locusts would have been a really nice addition.

I still recommend the book very highly.
August 06, 2006

Two different books in one volume

...Or maybe three.

It starts out as a history, first talking in general terms and then focusing on the lives and work of a number of 19th century entomologists. Then midway through, the book shifts gears and becomes the story of the field research done by a modern team of entomologists. This is not a criticism, it just was a very different approach from the first half of the book. I personally found both halves very interesting, but I am equally interested in both history (where my primary interest lies) and science (when written for lay people).

My only complaint is that I would have liked more general background on the history of various types of locusts in other parts of the world. This is probably unfair, as the author makes clear that he is telling the story of one species on one continent.

If you are not interested in the scientific end, I nevertheless urge you to read all the way through. Not only is the writing very well done, but the author's proposed solution to the mystery of the locust's disappearance is one of those "aha!" moments that we all live for.

And I strongly, strongly urge everyone to pay special attention to the final chapter. At that point the author starts to turn away from hard science again, and begins almost a meditation on ecology and the value of biodiversity. But there's one final, thought-provoking twist in the story that MUST NOT be missed.

Well done!

July 09, 2006

The mystery of the missing Melanoplus

Once the scourge of the North American West, the Rocky Mountain Locust had disappeared before World War I. When settlers had built homes and planted crops, the locust would appear in clouds that would blot the sun. In their billions they swept through fields, stripping them bare. Well fed, they would breed, spreading eggs across the land in preparation for another swarm. In this highly personalised and informal history, Jeffrey Lockwood recounts the effect of the swarms and the struggle to understand and learn to cope with them. Yet this "biblical scourge" tapered off mysteriously, ending after driving many from the frontier. Lockwood led the studies investigating the why the Rocky Mountain Locust [Melanoplus spretus] is no longer seen. He arrives at surprising conclusions regarding both the extinction and the lessons we may gain from it.

The impact of this insect pest on farming was highly significant wherever it occurred. With pleas for controls, as well as relief, governments floundered before the onslaught. Lockwood treats the appeals for divine intervention lightly, but his account of scientific efforts to cope with the plague are serious. There are some heroes in his story, most notably, Charles Valentine Riley. Riley, although lacking academic credentials, made the locust his crusade. With two associates, Riley led a campaign to deal with locust outbreaks. With Charles Darwin's theory as one of their tools, the trio made progress in understanding the life cycle of the locust. From far away, another researcher was coping with similar infestations. Boris Uvarov introduced an entirely new concept in entomology, the "phase" cycle - insects could exhibit different appearances and habits under varying conditions.

Lockwood's own quest came long after the Rocky Mountain Locust had withdrawn from human ken. Indeed, it was that disappearance the piqued his interest. An insect that had numbered in the trillions now reduced to zero was a mystery he felt compelled to solve. He deduced that so many flying insects would leave traces in the glaciers scattered about the Rocky Mountains and centred his quest there. To say there were adventures is grave understatement. There's even a murder involved. More significantly, specimens retrieved from the ice offered few clues to the disappearance, although significant information was gathered. Since Lockwood chooses to depict the extinction as a mystery, it would be inappropriate to reveal the conclusion here. Suffice to say that Lockwood's analysis makes for compelling reading, both in the circumstances of the locust's extinction and the lesson derived from it. The assessment is far-reaching in both time and place and is well worth your time to learn. What has been learned has implications for the future. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]
April 03, 2006

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