Submitted to: American Entomologist Publication Type: Peer
Reviewed Journal Publication Acceptance Date: May 3, 2009
Publication Date: July 1, 2010 Repository
URL:http://hdl.handle.net/10113/42419 Citation: Weber, D.C.
2010. Six legged soldiers. American Entomologist. 56(2):125-126.
Jeffrey Lockwood has written a fascinating if at times
depressing exploration of the role of insects in warfare. Dr.
Lockwood reviews the martial use of insects, starting with
stinging bees and wasps, which were in ancient and Medieval
times widely used in war to induce panic among enemy soldiers.
In the massive human movements and social upheaval of war,
insect-vectored disease has frequently played an important role;
although this was not understood until the 20th century,
associations of disease with wetland habitats were used in
military strategy. The most terrifying military applications of
insects involved the use by the Japanese of fleas with plague,
and houseflies with cholera, to initiate disease outbreaks which
killed hu