The Rocky Mountain Locust (Melanoplus spretus), is a species of grasshopper, native throughout the western half of the United States and some western portions of Canada It went extinct around the turn of the 20th Century but was brought back to life via cloning and temporal dislocation technologies by the Greene Foundation in the late 2000's.
This species swarms in numbers far larger than any other locust species, with one famous sighting in 1875 estimated at 198,000 square miles 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.
Description
TBA
Ecology
The Rocky Mountain locusts occur along both sides of the Rocky Mountains and in most of the prairie areas. Breeding in sandy areas and thriving in hot and dry conditions, they depend on the tall grass prairie plants during drier spells.
They are the main food source the Eskimo Curlew, as well as being preyed upon by hundreds of other species of birds.
Conservation
Many Zoo and Private collections feature Rocky Mountain Locusts, as they are very easy to care for.