They might look like harmless grasshoppers, but locusts have an appetite for destruction. When the conditions are right, they transform from mild-mannered loners into gregarious partiers. They swarm, ...

For many locusts, life in a swarm is a picnic. Crowded conditions create a locust-eat-locust world. But it turns out some migrating insects deploy a “don’t-eat-me” pheromone that can deter their ...

In the near(ish) future we could be using cyborg locusts as sniffer dogs to detect explosives, according to a new proof of concept study. A team showed that locusts could smell different amounts of ...

In what can only be described as a ridiculously sci-fi endeavor, scientists are developing bomb-sniffing cyborg locusts. And while the machine-insect explosive hunters still have a ways to go before ...

Taken as individuals, locusts are largely harmless insects much like ordinary grasshoppers, but when gathered together in their notorious swarms they can cause all kinds of environmental destruction.

In the natural world, animals rely on perceiving a range of signals to survive—and for insects, olfactory cues are particularly critical. These scents guide them to vital resources like mates, food, ...

In case you haven't heard, Massachusetts will soon be swarmed with insects known as cicadas. In next few weeks, the 17-year periodical cicadas, also known as Brood XIV, will emerge. While some people ...

Locusts are usually harmless loners. But together, they become plagues. When conditions are right, solitary locusts begin congregating and transmogrifying into their “gregarious” form, becoming a ...

A single locust is just bigger than a paper clip. But when these solitary critters attract others into a growing swarm, billions of locusts wind up flying together, forming a moving carpet that can ...

This press release is available in French, Japanese and Spanish. Researchers have linked the radical transformation of desert locusts – from harmless, solitary creatures to gregarious, swarm-forming ...

Locusts have been agricultural pests for almost as long as humans have grown plants for food. They cause millions of dollars in crop damage every year. They can even create food shortages and destroy ...