How Farmers Accidentally Killed Off North America's Locusts

The video explores the history and behavior of locusts, focusing on the Rocky Mountain Locust, which once swarmed across North America. It discusses how locusts transform from solitary grasshoppers into swarming pests and the sudden disappearance of the Rocky Mountain Locust in the 1880s. Various hypotheses are examined, including genetic factors and human-induced environmental changes. The video concludes by considering the ecological role of locusts and the impact of their extinction.

Which continents have been affected by locust swarms since October 2019?

• Antarctica and North America

• East Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia

• South America and Europe

• Australia and Antarctica

What is a unique characteristic of locusts that differentiates them from regular grasshoppers?

• They can change behavior and form swarms

• They are always solitary

• They are larger than grasshoppers

• They only live in deserts

What was one hypothesis about the Rocky Mountain Locust's extinction?

• They were hunted to extinction

• They were a phase of another grasshopper species

• They migrated to another continent

• They evolved into a new species

What environmental changes did Western colonizers bring that might have affected the locusts?

• Increase in locust population

• Destruction of breeding grounds

• Changes in climate

• Introduction of new predators

What is the 'meta population rescue effect' in the context of locusts?

• A technique to study locust behavior

• A strategy to prevent locust swarms

• A process where locusts from nearby areas repopulate a depleted area

• A method to increase locust numbers artificially