The Prophet Joel

By Arno Clement Gaebelein

Appendix B

From Dr. A. Munro, "The Locust Plague."

We have now to consider the Locust in its larval stage, in which it is found to be most destructive to the crops over which it passes. As the larva undergoes certain changes or moults, it will be better to follow the natural order or course of events. The metamorphosis is not complete, or, as it is termed, it is hemimetabolic. From the birth or exit from the nest of eggs till it assumes the state of being of a fully fledged flying locust a period of seven or eight weeks elapses. I am not certain that the exact time to a day has been annotated or fixed by any observer as to when the various stages end, and perhaps some variation may prevail. At the same time, it will be found convenient to attend to the prominent features connected with its several stages at this time. It is not till from fifteen or twenty days after birth that the very first appearance of wings can be traced, and this is done then only in the form of tiny scales on the trunk or thora. The stages through which it passes in the larval condition are manifested by a growth and the distinct stripping off of its outer layer or skin at certain wellmarked periods, somewhat after the fashion that the gloves are removed from the hand. As the animal increases in size you may, towards the latter portion of its larval life, forcibly remove the external covering and find the formation of the wings underneath.

Appearance in larval form. When the tiny creature issues from its nest it is of a greenish-white or creamy color, about one-eighth of an inch or seven millimetres long, and when it throws off its covering, which it sets about doing at once, it soon begins to move and creep. The very dust of the ground, which was so still before, now seems to waken into life from the vast multitude that exists of the tiny creatures. The number of these small forms seems infinite. In a day or two, according to the state of the weather, the whiteness disappears, they become mottled, and the heat of the sun turns the color gradually into a homogeneous blackish brown or dark hue. You find the chief rudimentary parts of the body of the full-grown locust there, less the wings, even in this early stage.

Early movements. They begin to move by a process of twisting or rolling over one another, so that for the first few days they received the name of "twisters." At night they gather themselves into companies, or heaps, or bunches so as to keep themselves warm, and thus rest for the night. They early show their gregarious nature. During this initiatory period, if there is plenty of pasture about for them to eat, they do not march far away; if they do, it is en masse; but they spread out selecting warm and sunny places, and eat and grow, keeping pretty well in the vicinity of their birthplace. Within eight or ten days they can jump about 4 or 6 inches, and so they evince considerable progress. Their eating and movable apparatuses show evident signs of rapid development.

"Grasshopper" stage. In the first three or four weeks, until they cast off their second or third skin or covering, they keep pretty near to the pastures in the neighborhood of their birthplace, and do not show till then any desire to go farther afield, if they have plenty to eat; but, if not, they move on en masse, and not in open file, like a semi-liquid stream, till they find food. In the United States of America the locust at the stage of which we are now speaking (i. e., at the third or fourth week) receives the name of grasshopper on account of its hopping or jumping qualifications, the legs being then more adapted for hopping or jumping than those of the wandering locust. But it is not the technical grasshopper, as we are accustomed to view that insect.

Orderly instincts. At the age of three to four weeks a new characteristic makes its appearance. A desire to explore manifests itself, and in a surprising manner. The whole company moves in a body in one general direction, and more or less in a straight line, which is a matter worthy of particular attention, as if by one common instinct, without apparently having any recognized leader or commander. "The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands." Now, they thin off or spread themselves out, eating everything that comes in their way wheat (if sufficiently young and tender), maize (even if strong and old), corn, sugar-cane, linseed, alfalfa (lucerne), pasture of all kinds, vegetables of all kinds (tomatoes and celery) and all garden produce, potatoes (ordinary and sweet), the leaves and even sometimes the bark of the trees (with one or two exceptions) the fruit of course is lost for the season, sometimes causing the ruin of the trees; orange, willow, poplar, palm, banana, peach, pear, plum, vine, acacias, roses, etc., are stripped, with the exception of the gum and paradise trees, which seem to be poisonous to them. They make everything "clean bare" ; sometimes they will enter houses and eat the very clothes and curtains at the windows. Scarcely anything comes amiss to their ravenous appetites when sufficiently famished even dry lint on used-up fences, planks, dry leaves, paper (entire books), cotton, woolen fabrics, wool on the sheep. Further, if compelled by hunger, they have been known to eat dry animal substances, and even cannibalism as a resource when all other food fails. They eat their own weak ones.

Preferences in food. But if one were to specialize in regard to the food the locusts particularly like or dislike, it may be said few things come amiss to them, on the one hand ; and, on the other, where food is more plentiful or abundant, they are somewhat fastidious or capricious. Thus, in one case, they do not refuse to eat their own diseased or weak kind, and even feed on dead animals; while, in the other, they pass by sweet stuffs, and seem to refer the bitter, acrid vegetables and plants. Natural grasses are not appreciated so much as cultivated plants grains and cultivated pastures suffer first and chiefly! They are not specially fond of melons, pumpkins, or the poisonous weed Mio-mio. When wheat is pretty far advanced, they pass it by not so with mealies, tobacco, etc. Indeed, most vegetables and all fruit and garden plants they eat with avidity.

I have seen fields of pasture over which this scourge passed, and there was not a blade left, not even for a goat to nip. The surface there was "desolate," and quite black-colored.

Destructive powers universal and unsparing. It is a curious phenomenon to see the trees stripped in one day of their foliage just in the season of the year when they ought to be covered with leaves and fruit. In a month or two after being stripped bare by the locusts, young leaves again sprout out; but in trees such as the orange a visitation like that described destroys the fruit for two seasons, and not unfrequently the trees are permanently injured. Thus in one district¹ the account of the plague runs: The locusts have devoured everything grapes, wheat, beans, and potatoes the running stream is infested, and the loss is calculated at 1,000,000 sterling. Now this took place in a vine-growing district, so that nothing seems to escape them. Other instances can be cited illustrative of the universality of the destroying power, but it is unnecessary.

Appearance on the march. When these hoppers or jumpers are on the "march," they sometimes appear so determined and bent on their fearful execution of their work that they resemble in certain aspects and have got the name of an "army on the march." They move in open file, and carry themselves in a proud, haughty way, with heads high up and fixed. It is rather beautiful and interesting to see them "on the march," if we only divest ourselves for the moment of the idea of their devastating object. In this stage they can both jump as well as walk, but walking is the feature. If left alone, they walk (hence "voetgangers" in Dutch) ; but if you approach them or meddle with them they jump. They can hop about a foot or so in height, and of course the older and stronger they become, they acquire more strength and can leap better. The comparatively slender hind legs of our voetgangers do not tend to good jumping; but these acquire more and more strength, so that the adult can jump six or more feet.

Marching stage the most deadly. It is in this marching stage that they do enormous damage, and eat every edible thing in their path, and completely destroy the work of the husbandman. They are not content with levying toll merely, but they will have all, and will leave nothing behind but desolation. They therefore are unlike the flying company of locusts, which only levy toll here and there; but these when they pass leave nothing.

No fears deter. The whole of the company begin to walk at the same time, as if by order; the head is kept erect, and the neck is as if stiffened. They go straight on, irrespective of danger; and though they manifest a decided power sometimes to select a slightly different course, yet they are not easily turned from their course, and being so numerous and closely phalanxed nothing escapes them. The sight of this "army" is a very impressive one, and once seen will never be forgotten. In some respects it is an awful sight; the spectacle strikes you with pity and sorrow to see at once before you that the toil and the labor for the season, or indeed the year, is lost

1. In South Africa.