A little history on the Rocky Mountain locust

Grants | Legacy Digitization | Topics | Education | Environment |
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100 years ago, scientists captured the last live sample of a Rocky Mountain locust. Huge swarms of the insects devastated farms in Minnesota and much of the western half of the country throughout the 1800's. They ate everything in their path- from wheat fields and apple trees to fence posts and even laundry hanging out to dry. In 1875, a swarm 1,800 miles long and 110 miles wide moved across the country - the largest ever recorded. But the species vanished just a few decades later. Wyoming University entomologist Jeff Lockwood says the Rocky Mountain locust is the only pest species humans have driven to extinction:

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Digitization made possible by the State of Minnesota Legacy Amendment’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, approved by voters in 2008.

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