Swarming Locusts

New insights into the locust's behavior may help scientists reduce the damage these pests have on farming communities in Africa. During the rainy seasons, the locust take shelter together and doing so triggers the formation of a protein which encourages them to become more active. They then seek out other locust, triggering the same protein production in them. This eventually spreads and creates the swarms of locusts feared since Biblical times. The protein, scientists say, is a "learning" protein which serves to trigger a kind of memory that makes locusts want to swarm.