Locusts begin to appear in spring, about a month after the Equinox,f1 and are only seen at most during five months, viz. part of April, May, June, July, and August, with part of September. They are wont to rise in such vast companies, that they form a kind of cloud which eclipses the sun and darkens the sky;f2 and make so great a noise with their wings as that, according to some, the sound thereof may be heard at six miles distance. Where-ever they fall they make a most terrible havoc of all the fruits of the earth; and therefore the people, when they see them flying, are in the greatest consternation.f3 Pliny says, "That they were looked upon as a plague proceeding from the wrath of the gods."f4And therefore they were not only accounted prodigies, for the harm which they did, but also for that which they portended; vast numbers of locusts having been frequently seen to appear before the approach of great armies, as is frequently observed by Abul Pharajas, and by du Fresne, at the end of Cinnamus, p. 530.
The head of the locust resembles that of a horse; and therefore the Italians, who are often troubled with them, call them Cavalette, as it were little horses.
The Arabians, who know them well, say "That the locusts have the thigh of a camel, the legs of an ostrich, the wings of an eagle, the breast of a lion, their tails are like a viper’s, and the appearance of horses adorns their heads and countenance." Another Arabian author, cited by Bochart, saith, "That in the meanest locust there is the face of a horse, the eyes of an elephant, the neck of a bull, the breast of a lion, the belly of a vulture, the wings of an eagle, the thighs of a camel, the feet of an ostrich, and the tail of a snake."
As to the teeth of the locusts, Pliny observes " that nothing can resist them."f5
For the reasons above given, locusts are the symbol of an army of enemies coming in great multitudes, with great speed and swiftness to make an excursion, in order to plunder and destroy. See Joe 1:6; Amo 7:7. And, agreeably to this, locusts are explained by the Indian, chap. 300., "of a multitude of armies sent against a country at the command of God."f6 And, in chap. 288., the Persian and Egyptian explain locusts of armies. And again, in chap. ccc., it is said, "If any king or potentate see locusts come upon a place, let him expect there a powerful multitude of enemies, and that the mischief they will effect will be in proportion to the hurt done by the locusts."
It is to be further observed, that the locusts are bred in pits of the earth.f7 The reason of it seems to be, that having consumed all the fruits of the earth towards the end of the summer, the heat makes them seek for wells and pits of water, and there they take occasion to lay their eggs or spawn; out of which new ones arise the next spring. And as for those that lay them elsewh ere, the inhabitants endeavour to destroy them, or the winter rains rot them; which is a blessing to men, if the rains prove abundant; but especially in the spring, as Pliny observes;f8 and therefore the locusts spawn in rimosis locis, in places where there are pits.
The locusts, when they fly, may be drawn down upon the earth by art; as sometimes it happens, that the inhabitants make great fires of smoking stuff in great holes very deep; and so the locusts flying over it, fall down upon the earth, being offended with the smoke, as all other insects are.f9
In Jdg 6:3-5, and Jdg 7:12, the Arabians, or Children of the East, are compared to locusts. See the Orig. and the LXX.
The Scripture account of the locusts is to be closely attended to, in order to aright apprehension. The locusts of Egypt, it is more than probable, differed widely from the locusts which John the Baptist ate for food in the wilderness. The former appear to have been instruments of God for man’s punishment. The latter, the gracious gift of God for man’s food. Joel, the prophet, speaks of the same destructive creature, as the Lord’s army. It should seem to have been an innumerable host of little insects, so little that a man mighttread at one time many of them under his feet; but yet from the vast swarms, the destruction of thousands brought no relief, for the millions remaining were enough for the accomplishment of ruin wherever they came. What a solemn lesson this taught, when a creature so contemptible had power from the Lord to humble the haughtiness of man! If the reader will compare what Joel hath said chap. i. 6.7. and 2: 3 - 11. with Rev. ix. 1 - 12, he will find large scope for meditation. Whether the latter is figurative of some greatand awful events yet remaining to be fulfilled in the earth; or whether the locusts, des - cribed by the beloved apostle John in this chapter, be altogether different from the locusts of Egypt, or those mentioned by the prophet Joel, I stay not to enquire. It will be sufficient for the great purposes of improvement from such Scripture, to consider how terrible the Lord’s judgments are, who can, from causes so apparently trifling and insignificant, throw down the props of all human comforts. The reflection of the prophet on thesubject is uncommonly striking and impressive. "Therefore also now saith the Lord, Turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: and rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful; slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. Who knoweth, if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him, even a meat offering, and a drink offering, unto the Lord your God! (Joel 2: 12 - 14.)
I cannot dismiss this article, without making a farther observation on the different relations of the sacred writers on the subject of locusts; that they should seem to justify the opinion, that they differed very widely from each other. The locusts of Egypt, formidable as they were, and so numerous as to cover the face of the whole earth, and to darken the land, it should seem, must have been of the caterpillar kind; for their destruction, we are told, was directed to the herbs and trees, and every thing green in the land. (See Exo 10:14-15.) Such, in like manner, were the locusts which Joel describes, in their destruction of food; but from certain peculiarities with which he describes them also, it should seem that they very probably were a species of much larger kind than the locusts of Egypt. Indeed, in relation to the locusts of Egypt, we are told, that "before them there were no such locusts as they, neither after them should be such." (Exod. x. 14.) The locusts, described by Joel, are said to be as "the appearance of horses, and as horsemen, shall they run. Like the noise of Chariots, on tops of mountains; like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble." They are said, moreover, to march in such a regular way, that they shall not break their ranks, nor thrust one another in their path. Whereas the multitude of the smaller species of insects are in clusters, for the most part, and their movements in the most irregular manner. And if we turn to the account in the Book of the Revelations, we are informed of another kind of locusts, apparently still more formidable. These are said to be of the scorpion kind. Their shapes are said to be like unto horses prepared for battle. In the Book of the Proverbs, chap. xxx. 27, the locusts are said to have no king. But the locusts John describes, are said to have a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit." (Rev. ix. 11) So that upon the whole, it should seem the Scripture relates, under the general name of locusts, different species of them, but all ministers and instruments of the Lord for destruction; and most awful eachand all of them are. Profane writers describe the locusts of Africa and some parts of Asia, as sometimes swarming to such a degree, as to darken the face of the sun. The locusts of Palestine certainly differed from those, in that they were not unfrequently used for food. And such it was, most probably, John the Baptist made his sustenance, with the wild honey of the desert. (Matt. 3: 4.)
There are several species of locusts which visit Palestine; they are brought by the wind, and carried away by the same. Five Hebrew words are translated ’locusts,’ but they cannot now be definitely distinguished. Some of the Hebrew words are also translated GRASSHOPPERS. They formed one of the plagues of Egypt. Exo 10:4-19. They are remarkable for the immense numbers that suddenly swarm upon a district, and for the vast devastation they accomplish in vegetation in a little while, as the prophet says, before them the land may be as the garden of Eden, and behind them a desolate wilderness: nothing escapes them. Joe 2:3.
They were classed among the clean things that might be eaten by the Israelites. Lev 11:22; they were the food of John the Baptist, Mat 3:4; and are eaten at the present time. They are boiled, roasted, and fried, or salted, or pounded into cakes with salt. The OEdipoda migratoria is a species that commonly visits Palestine.
THE BALD LOCUSTS, salam. These are mentioned only in Lev 11:22; as distinct from the common locusts (arbeh ). The bald locust is supposed to be a species of Truxalis, which have smooth heads.
In Rev 9:3; Rev 9:7 the locust is symbolical of some destructive power that will issue from ’the smoke,’ or influence, of the bottomless pit, to sting and torment the men that have not the seal of God in their foreheads. These locusts have stings like scorpions, are in shape or appearance like horses, with faces of men, and with crowns of gold on their heads, etc., implying imperial power, with pretended subjection to God; but withal cruel, pitiless, and false.
Insects like grasshoppers that could
destroy a large crop very quickly. See
Ex. 10. The Law of Moses said that
locusts could be eaten. See Lev. 11:21–22.
A locust is a type of large grasshopper that can cause great damage to plants and crops. It is part of the insect family Acridiidae. Unlike regular grasshoppers, locusts gather in huge groups called swarms and travel long distances together.
Locusts in the Bible
The Bible uses at least 12 different names for locusts, with each name possibly describing either how the locust looks as it grows or what kind of damage it does to plants. In modern times, locust swarms continue to destroy large areas of farmland and other plants. Unlike regular grasshoppers, locusts gather in large groups and travel long distances together.
The Old Testament mentions several different species of locusts. Leviticus 11:22 seems to refer to the slant-faced (bald) locust and the katydid, or long-horned grasshopper. The reference in Deuteronomy 28:42 may be to the mole cricket.
Joel 1:4 and 2:25 and Nahum 3:16–17 describe the stages of the insect’s development.
The "devouring locust" in the book of Joel (also known as "palmerworm") is likely the earliest stage.
The "swarming locusts" (or simply "locusts") are in the middle stages.
"Young locust" (referred to as "cankerworm") are later stages but not yet adults.
The adult locusts, called "destroying locusts" or "caterpillars," are reddish-brown. Over time, they turn yellow with a brownish pattern on their wings.
Of all the many types of locusts found in Bible lands, only three types can form large swarms. The desert locust (Schistocerca gergaria) is the most common of these three. It is found throughout all the lands mentioned in the Bible and originally came from Sudan in Africa.
The desert locust is about 5 centimeters (two inches) long (about the length of your thumb). When its wings are spread out, they measure about 12.7 centimeters (five inches) across. These locusts can exist in different forms:
a solitary form, where they live alone;
a group form, where they gather and live with other locuts; and
a transition form (called transiens), as they change between these two states.
The locusts look different in each form, with changes in their body color and shape. Young locusts also look different from adult ones.
Rain plays an important role in how locust swarms grow. The locusts need wet soil to lay their eggs and for the eggs to grow properly. Each female locust can lay between 1 and 6 groups of eggs. Each group contains between 28 and 146 eggs. After 15 to 43 days, baby locusts hatch from these eggs.
When locusts reach their second growth stage, they begin to move in large groups. Nothing can stop these groups as they move forward together. They climb over or move around any obstacle in their path (Joel 2:4–9). The locusts will keep moving unless the weather is too hot or too cold. They can fly up to 1,930.8 kilometers (1,200 miles) from where they started. They fly so close together that their swarms can block out sunlight. Natural body chemicals make the locusts want to move, but the wind decides which direction they go.
These swarms eat almost every plant they find. Only a few plants are safe from them, including:
carob trees,
sycamore trees,
castor trees, and
oleander bushes.
Plague of Locust
In ancient times, a locust plague was one of the worst disasters that could happen to a community (Deuteronomy 28:38). The Bible describes these plagues as so terrible that they became a symbol of God's judgment. The prophet Joel describes a locust plague in vivid detail (Joel 2:1–11). When locust plagues came, people would pray, stop eating for a time (fast), and blow trumpets to ask for God's help (1 Kings 8:37–38; 2 Chronicles 6:28–29; Joel 2:12–17).
In the Bible, writers often used locusts as a symbol for powerful enemies who destroyed everything in their path, like how locusts destroy crops (Judges 6:5; Isaiah 33:4; Jeremiah 46:23; 51:27; Nahum 3:15).
Locusts as Food
Bedouins (nomadic people) eat locusts raw, roasted, or boiled. They also dry locusts to preserve them. They may crush them for cooking or eat them with bread, honey, and dates. John the Baptist ate locusts and wild honey (Mark 1:6). The ancient Greeks also crushed locusts with stone tools to make flour.
In ancient times, people had an interesting way of counting a locust's legs. They counted the four small legs used for walking and the two large back legs used for jumping (which they gave a special name). This counting system helps explain why the Bible talks about insects "going on all fours." This phrase meant walking or crawling, not jumping. It did not mean these insects only had four legs in total.
According to God's law, most insects with six legs were considered ceremonially unclean and could not be eaten. However, locusts were different. Because they had special jumping legs, they were considered clean, and people could eat them (Leviticus 11:20–23).
See also Plagues upon Egypt.
Aquifer Open Bible Dictionary © 2026 Mission Mutual, an adaptation of the Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary © 2023 Tyndale House Publishers. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.