Locusts are the swarming phase of certain species of short-horned grasshoppers in the family Acrididae.
These are species that can breed rapidly under suitable conditions and subsequently become gregarious and migratory when their populations become dense enough. Both the bands and the swarms are nomadic and rapidly strip fields and greatly damage crops.
Locusts are edible insects, and are considered a delicacy in some countries. There have been references to their consumption as food throughout history. On swarming they are known to produce a toxin that renders them inedible.
While not swarming, many locusts are edible. In fact, even Jewish and Islamic dietary laws give a pass on eating locusts, something that makes sense given how prevalent a food source they are in some parts of the world.
Locusts are, as well, a surprisingly efficient source of protein, harvestable to yield as much as five times as much protein as cattle by some accounts.
Top image via BILAL TARABEY/AFP/Getty Images.
Text via Wikipedia.
