What is the difference between th
grasshoppers in North America
today and the Rocky Mountain
locusts of the 1800s?
The decline of Rocky Mountain locusts began on farms near
mining towns, like this one in Montana.
The Rocky Mountain locusts were
more widespread.
The Rocky Mountain locusts had
shorter attacks.
Today, farmers and ranchers in North America still face
destruction from grasshoppers. Heavy infestations can
wipe out nearly all the wheatgrass and other range feed
for cattle. But these attacks don't last as long or cover as
wide an area as the locust plagues of the 1800s. The
devastating plagues caused by the Rocky Mountain locust
are history, and the mystery of the locust's extinction is
finally solved.
The Rocky Mountain locusts ate only
range feed.
The Rocky Mountain locusts caused
destruction.
