> All of these triggers cause a release of serotonin. This serotonin release triggers the physical transformation
Locusts are just grasshoppers on prozac?
password4321 2 hours ago [-]
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.
Aboutplants 47 minutes ago [-]
I immediately thought of how destroying the Monarch Butterfly wintering grounds in Mexico would have the same impact on Monarchs.
daoboy 2 hours ago [-]
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.
themgt 1 hours ago [-]
> 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 54 minutes ago [-]
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 10 minutes ago [-]
Trigger warning: animated insect crawls on screen.
card_zero 36 minutes ago [-]
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.
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.
jeremytarpley 49 minutes ago [-]
Great article. I'm also impressed by the design of the webpage itself. Love the typography and clever UI.
cbdevidal 38 minutes ago [-]
The jumping grasshoppers at the bottom really surprised me :-)
alserio 2 hours ago [-]
Nice Easter egg
kasperset 2 hours ago [-]
I almost jumped. Nice touch to the article
jcgrillo 2 hours ago [-]
For a split second I thought there was an actual bug on my phone. It was an excellent article too!
archermarks 54 minutes ago [-]
Really interesting article! I knew about the phase polyphenism but the forced cannibalistic march theory was new to me.
2 hours ago [-]
2 hours ago [-]
Rendered at 13:51:22 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) with Vercel.
Locusts are just grasshoppers on prozac?
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.
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.
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.