CASE TEACHING NOTES for

locusts

INTRODUCTION / BACKGROUND

This is a fascinating tale of the American experience during the 1870s, textured by stories of immigration, homesteading, and a battle of humankind with nature to occupy the land and overcome the forces of nature. We don’t know what the history of this species was or the impact it had on the Great Plains prior to settlement. The basic assumption is that the Rocky Mountain Locust had an irruptive population cycle and expressed some level of destruction, much like fires. We hypothesize this based on what we see grasshoppers and locusts doing today. The end of this story leaves us with a transformed Great Plains, occupied by swarms of homesteaders and an extinct species.

I have used this case with my freshman non-majors environmental science students. Components of it could be used in other courses such as ecology, general biology, public policy, history, and political science. Depending on the direction the individual instructor may wish to take, all or select problem sets may be used.

CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT

Read case: either before class or 10-15 minutes in class.
Discussion questions: There is way too much here for one day, and the questions address very different issues. My recommendation is to take one section at a time, per class period. Each question should take about 10 minutes for group discussion, and then 10-15 minutes for class discussion. Some of the questions may require prior reading to really dive into the subject, such as either of the following:
- Lockwood, J. A. and L. D. DeBrey. 1990. A Solution for the Sudden and Unexplained Extinction of the Rocky Mountain Grasshopper (Orthoptera: Acrididae). Environmental Entomology 19:1194-1205
- Lockwood. J. A. 2001. Voices from the Past: What we can learn from the Rocky Mountain Locust. American Entomologist 47: 208-215.
Break class up into groups of 3-5 individuals; depending on the size of the class, you may have multiple groups addressing the same question. This has been effective in the classroom for generating discussion.

ANSWER KEY

Answers to the questions posed in the case study are provided in a separate answer key to the case. Those answers are password-protected. To access the answers for this case, go to the key. You will be prompted for a username and password. If you have not yet registered with us, you can see whether you are eligible for an account by reviewing our password policy and then apply online or write to answerkey@sciencecases.org.

REFERENCES

Literature Cited

Atkins, A. 1984. Harvest of Grief: Grasshopper plagues and public assistance in Minnesota. St Paul, Minn.: Minnesota Historical Society Press.
Evans, H.E, 1966. “Year of the Locust” from Life on a Little Known Planet, New York: Dutton.
Lockwood, J.A., and L. D. DeBrey. 1990. A Solution for the Sudden and Unexplained Extinction of the Rocky Mountain Grasshopper (Orthoptera: Acrididae). Environmental Entomology 19:1194-1205.
Lockwood, J.A. 2001. Voices from the Past: What we can learn from the Rocky Mountain Locust. American Entomologist 47: 208-215.
Riley, C.V., A.S. Packard, Jr., and C. Thomas. 1880. Second report of the United States Entomological Commission. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
Tallgrass Historians L.C. 1998. Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve Legislative History, 1920-1996—Administrative History. Prepared by Tallgrass Historians L.C. for the National Park Service.
http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/tapr/index.htm
Thoopal R. K. 2002. Why do Locusts Swarm?
http://www.pitara.com/discover/5wh/161.htm
Wilder, Laura Ingalls. 1937. On the Banks of Plum Creek. New York: Harper Collins Publishers.

Supplemental Reference Material

Chapco, W., W.R. Kuperus and G. Litzenberger. 1999. Molecular phylogeny of melanopline grasshopper (Orthoptera: Acrididae). The genus Melanoplus. Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am. 92: 617-623.
Custer National Forest
http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/custer/recreation/grasshopper.shtml
Lockwood, J. A. 1989. Taxonomic Status of the Rocky Mountain Locust: Morphometric Comparisons of Melanoplus spretus (Walsh) With Solitary and Migratory Melanoplus sanguinipes (F.). The Canadian Entomologist 121:1103-1109.
Lockwood, J.A., J.C. Burne, L.D. DeBrey, R.A. Nunamaker and R.E. Pfadt. 1990. The preserved fauna of grasshopper glacier (Crazy Mountains, Montana): Unique insights to Acridid biology. Bol. San. Veg. Plagas (Fuera de serie) 20:223-236.
Lockwood, J. A., S. P. Schell, J. K. Wangberg, L. D. DeBrey, W. G. DeBrey and C. R. Bomar. 1992. Preserved Insects and Physical Condition of Grasshopper Glacier, Carbon County, Montana, U.S.A. Arctic and Alpine Research 24:229-232.
Lockwood, J. A., C. D. Thompson, L. D. DeBrey, C. M. Love, R. A. Nunamaker and R. E. Pfadt. 1991. Preserved Grasshopper Fauna of Knife Point Glacier, Fremont County, Wyoming, U.S.A. Arctic and Alpine Research 23:108-114.
Lockwood, Jeffrey A., Richard A. Nunamaker, Robert E. Pfadt, and Larry D. DeBrey. 1990. Grasshopper Glacier: Characterization of a vanishing biological resource. American Entomologist 36:18-27.
Rocky Mountain Locust Plague: A Natural Tragedy Stalls the Triumph of the Plow.
http://www.nationalhistoryday.com/03_educators/teacher/rockymt.htm
The SER Primer on Ecological Restoration—A Publication of the Science & Policy Working Group. April 2002 (First Edition) ©2002 Society for Ecological Restoration International.
http://www.ser.org/content/ecological_restoration_primer.asp
Yoon, C. K. 2002. What plagued the locust? St. Paul Pioneer press. April 28, p.4A.

Acknowledgements: This case study was developed with support from The Pew Charitable Trusts as part of the Case Studies in Science Workshop held at the University at Buffalo, State University of New York, on May 20-24, 2002.

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Date Posted: 08/28/03 nas

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Originally published at http://www.sciencecases.org/locusts/locusts_notes.asp