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Rocky Mountain Locust
The Rocky Mountain locust (''Melanoplus spretus'') is an extinct species of grasshopper that ranged through the western half of the United States and some western portions of Canada with large numbers seen until the end of the 19th century. Sightings often placed their swarms in numbers far larger than any other locust species, with Albert's swarm, one famous sighting in 1875 estimated at in size (greater than the area of California), weighing 27.5 million tons and consisting of some 12.5 trillion insects, the greatest concentration of animals ever speculatively guessed, according to ''Guinness World Records''. Less than 30 years later, the species was apparently extinct. The last recorded sighting of a live specimen was in 1902 in southern Canada. Because a creature so ubiquitous was not expected to become extinct, very few specimens were ever collected (though a few preserved remains have been found in Knife Point Glacier, Wyoming and Grasshopper Glacier (Montana), Grasshopper ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Benjamin Dann Walsh
Benjamin Dann Walsh (September 21, 1808 – November 18, 1869) was an English-born American entomologist who served as the first official state entomologist in Illinois.Mallis (1971) He was a leading influence during a time of significant transition in American entomology. Walsh championed the application of scientific methods to control agricultural pests. He was a proponent of biological control as an effective means to manage insects. He was also one of the first American scientists to support Charles Darwin's theory of evolution and was instrumental in securing its broad acceptance in the entomological community. Biography Walsh was born in Hackney, which was then a small village outside of London. The son of Benjamin Walsh and Mary Bidwell Clarke, he was the fifth of thirteen children.Sheppard (2004) When Walsh was a boy, his father, a member of parliament, was charged with embezzlement and caught attempting to flee to America without his wife and children. He was jail ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
