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locust

locust

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2008 | Copyright

locust in zoology, name for certain migratory members of the short-horned grasshopper family (Acrididae). Like other members of this family, locusts have antennae shorter than their bodies, song-producing organs on the forewings and hind legs, and hind legs well developed for jumping. Locusts lay their eggs in the ground; when the nymphs hatch they are wingless and move across the land by walking. Typical locusts (e.g., species of the Old World genus Locusta ) have two distinct adult forms, a short-winged migratory form and a long-winged nonmigratory form.

Locust migration is an occasional event, which follows an enormous buildup of a locust population. The young locusts, called nymphs, only develop into the migratory form under certain environmental conditions, which also lead to a population increase. Not all of the environmental factors involved are known, but one is hot weather. The first generation produced after a migration is not usually migratory.

When migration occurs the locust swarms are so dense as to blacken the sky over an area of many miles. When the insects finally settle, after traveling hundreds or thousands of miles, they begin to feed, consuming enormous quantities of vegetation. Locusts are serious agricultural pests. Spraying with solutions of arsenic and overturning the soil can destroy the eggs.

Locusts are most common in Africa and Asia, but also occur in the United States. The Rocky Mountain locust, Melanopolus spretus, a species that is now apparently extinct, destroyed millions of dollars worth of crops on the Great Plains between 1874 and 1877. A single swarm contained an estimated 124 billion insects. Cicadas are sometimes called locusts in the United States but are related to aphids and leafhoppers, not grasshoppers.

Locusts are classified in the phylum Arthropoda , class Insecta, order Orthoptera, suborder Caelifera, family Acrididae.

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locust

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2008 | Copyright

locust in botany, any species of the genus Robinia, deciduous trees or shrubs of the family Leguminosae ( pulse family) native to the United States and Mexico. The locusts have pendent clusters of flowers similar to the sweet pea; these are very fragrant in the black, or yellow, locust ( R. pseudoacacia ), which is the common locust, sometimes also called acacia, or false acacia. This species has been widely planted in the past for ornamental purposes, for erosion control, and for its useful wood, but the locust borer has killed it in many areas. Its heavy, hard, durable wood has been used extensively for treenails in shipbuilding, for fence posts, for turning, and for fuel. The shoots and bark of the black locust are poisonous. The honey locust belongs to a different genus of this family, as does the carob , which is thought to have been the biblical locust. Locust is classified in the division Magnoliophyta , class Magnoliopsida, order Rosales, family Leguminosae.

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locust

A Dictionary of Ecology | 2004 | | Copyright

locust
1. One of several species of acridids (order Orthoptera, family Acrididae) which show density-related changes in their morphology and behaviour. At low population densities the insects develop as solitary, cryptically coloured grasshoppers (phase solitaria). At higher densities, such as may result from an abundance of food after rain, the insects develop into gregarious, brightly coloured individuals, which swarm and migrate, often causing great destruction to vegetation (phase gregaria). Major species include Locusta migratoria (migratory locust), Schistocerca gregaria (desert locust), and Nomadacris septemfasciata (red locust).

2. (carob) The pod and seeds of trees belonging to the leguminous tree Ceratonia siliqua.

3. A common name for leguminous trees and shrubs of the genus Robinia, also known as false acacia.
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MICHAEL ALLABY. "locust." A Dictionary of Ecology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

MICHAEL ALLABY. "locust." A Dictionary of Ecology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O14-locust1.html

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locust

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English | 2009 | Copyright

lo·cust / ˈlōkəst/ • n. 1. a large and mainly tropical grasshopper, esp. the migratory locust (Locusta migratoria), with strong powers of flight. It is usually solitary, but from time to time there is a population explosion, and it migrates in vast swarms that cause extensive damage to crops. ∎  (also seventeen-year locust) the periodical cicada. 2. (also locust bean) the large edible pod of some plants of the pea family, in particular the carob bean, which is said to resemble a locust. 3. (also locust tree) any of a number of pod-bearing trees of the pea family, in particular the carob tree and the black locust.

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locust

A Dictionary of Zoology | 1999 | | Copyright

locust (order Orthoptera, family Acrididae) Name given to several species of acridids which show density-related changes in their morphology and behaviour. At low population densities the insects develop as solitary, cryptically coloured grasshoppers (phase solitaria). At higher densities, such as may result from an abundance of food after rain, the insects develop into gregarious, brightly coloured individuals, which swarm and migrate, often causing great destruction to vegetation (phase gregaria). Major species include Locusta migratoria (migratory locust), Schistocerca gregaria (desert locust), and Nomadacris septemfasciata (red locust).
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locust

A Dictionary of the Bible | 1997 | | Copyright

locust Insect eaten in Palestine (Lev. 11: 21; Mark 1: 6) and considered very nutritious. A plague of locusts could utterly destroy a harvest, and as such they were sent against Egypt as punishment for refusing to release the Israelites from slavery (Exod. 10: 12–20), and against the Israelites themselves for disobedience (Deut. 28: 42), and are regarded as heralding the Day of the Lord (Joel 1: 1–20; 2: 1–17). The prophet challenges the nation to repent.
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W. R. F. BROWNING. "locust." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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locust

A Dictionary of Ecology | 2004 | | Copyright

locust(pl. loci) The specific place on a chromosome where a gene is located. In diploids, loci pair during meiosis and unless there have been translocations, inversions, etc., the homologous chromosomes contain identical sets of loci in the same linear order. At each locus is one gene; if that gene can take several forms (alleles), only one of these will be present at a given locus.
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locust

World Encyclopedia | 2005 | Copyright

locust Insect (type of large grasshopper) that migrates in huge swarms. Initially, the nymphs move in vast numbers on foot. As they feed, they develop into flying adults. Swarms may contain up to 40,000 million insects, and cover an area of c.1000sq km (386sq mi). Length: 12.5–100mm (0.5–4in). Order Orthoptera; species Schistocerca gregaria.
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locust

The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable | 2006 | | Copyright

locust taken as a type of devouring and destructive propensities. The phrase locust years for years of poverty and hardship was coined by Winston Churchill in his History of the Second World War (1948) to describe Britain in the 1930s. The allusion is biblical, to Joel 2:25, ‘I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten.’
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "locust." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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locust

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology | 1996 | | Copyright

locust
A. destructive insect migrating in swarms XIII;

B. fruit of the carob (supposed to have been the food of John the Baptist); carobtree, etc. XVII. — (O)F. locuste — L. locusta locust, lobster, of unkn. orig.
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T. F. HOAD. "locust." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

T. F. HOAD. "locust." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-locust.html

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locust

Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes | 2007 | Copyright

locust •unbiased • breakfast • August •locust, unfocused •ballast, Sallust •dynast • unembarrassed • provost

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