Page 114 - The Miracle of Migration in Animals

THE MIRACLE OF MIGRATION IN ANIMALS

them, and monarch butterflies would have become extinct.
Of course these insects have been created, and the incredible mi-
gration they make each year has been taught to them. The Creator
and Ruler of all forms of existence, God, Lord of the Earth and the
heavens, is the author of their wonderful creation.

Migration of the Locusts Feared by
Farmers

Since ancient times, these voracious insects that swarm together
and can fly even between the continents have been most feared by
farmers in certain parts of the world. Sometimes, millions of migrat-
ing locusts form a black cloud against the sky and devour all vegeta-
tion in their path—crops included—leaving economic ruin and
famine behind.
Locusts are remarkable not only for the destruction they inflict
on regions through which they travel. Scientists are also interested in
the changes they undergo before migration, and have discovered
some extremely surprising information.
Locusts go through two distinct phases, as regards body struc-
ture, life style, behavior and relationship with the environment. In its
so-called solitarious phase the locust feeds alone in the fields, and in
the gregarious phase it collects to form part of a massive swarm that
can cause massive damage to the environment.
Under normal conditions locusts are solitary, and will even dis-
tance themselves from one another when put together, but they will
group together when necessitated by environmental circumstances.
This begins the start of the locusts’ bodily changes. Preparing for
their gregarious phase, their bodies enlarge. Their wings become
transparent and strong and their color changes from yellow or green
to black. So dramatic are these changes that in the past, scientists clas-

112