Among his current research portfolio is a National Science Foundation-funded project examining the evolution of locust species to understand why some form large swarms and others do not. Locusts are a type of grasshopper species that, under the right conditions, shift from a typically solitary lifestyle to a “gregarious” one, in which they gather, breed prolifically, and migrate en masse. Two widely studied species are the desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria) and the migratory locust (Locusta migratoria).