- published: 04 Mar 2013 - views: 162172 - author: Qronos16 As
if we hadn't already seen enough Biblical events this year, a
plague of over 30 million locusts swarmed over Egypt's cities
and farms just three weeks bef... Locusts are the swarming phase
of short-horned grasshoppers of the family Acrididae. These are
species that can breed rapidly under suitable conditions and
subsequently become gregarious and migratory. They form bands as
nymphs and swarms as adults—both of which can travel great
distances, rapidly stripping fields and greatly damaging crops.
Though the female and the male look alike, they can be
distinguished by looking at the end of their abdomens. The male
has a boat-shaped tip, while the female has two serrated valves
that can be either apart or kept together. These valves aid in
the digging of the hole in which an egg pod is deposited. Desert
locusts can measure roughly 75 millimetres (3.0 in) in length.
In addition, a number of "grasshopper" species such as the
Senegalese grasshopper Oed