Since ancient times, locusts have been serious pests wreaking havoc on settled agriculture throughout much of the world. Numerous locust practices have been developed to control infestations. This has led to most commentaries portraying locust infestations only in a negative light while focusing on finding best management practices for suppressing locust populations and lessening crop damage caused by swarms. Yet, locusts are also of great ecological significance in being not only an extraordinary natural phenomenon but also major components of ecosystem nutrient cycling, arising long before settled agriculture. Furthermore, for humans, locusts are a nutritious food source, historically and currently being consumed directly. Locust control today should more regularly include their harvesting. This is now more feasible, as environmentally friendly biopesticides can be used to replace harmful organic pesticides. We focus here on the ecological significance of locusts by using calculations based on a 1 km² area of swarming and breeding Desert locusts, Schistocerca gregaria, and show that the huge biomass of locust individuals contributes greatly to ecosystem processes while also having great potential use in human nutrition, especially where there is an urgent need for improved dietary intake and nutrition.

中文翻译：

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变化世界中蝗虫的生态和人类饮食价值

自古以来，蝗虫一直是严重的害虫，在世界大部分地区对定居农业造成严重破坏。已经开发了许多蝗虫措施来控制虫害。这导致大多数评论只从负面的角度描述蝗灾，同时专注于寻找抑制蝗虫种群和减少蝗群造成的作物损害的最佳管理实践。然而，蝗虫也具有重要的生态意义，因为它不仅是一种非凡的自然现象，而且是生态系统养分循环的主要组成部分，早在定居农业之前就出现了。此外，对于人类来说，蝗虫是一种营养丰富的食物来源，过去和现在都被直接食用。今天的蝗虫控制应该更经常地包括收获。这现在更可行，作为环保型生物农药，可替代有害的有机农药。我们在这里通过使用基于 1 公里的计算来关注蝗虫的生态意义²沙漠蝗虫的聚集和繁殖区，Schistocerca gregaria，并表明蝗虫个体的巨大生物量对生态系统过程做出了巨大贡献，同时在人类营养方面也具有巨大的潜在用途，尤其是在迫切需要改善膳食摄入量和营养的地方。