Grasshoppers

1 definition found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Locust \Lo"cust\, n. [L. locusta locust, grasshopper. Cf.
     {Lobster}.]
     1. (Zool.) Any one of numerous species of long-winged,
        migratory, orthopterous insects, of the family
        {Acridid[ae]}, allied to the grasshoppers; esp., ({Edipoda
        migratoria}, syn. {Pachytylus migratoria}, and {Acridium


        perigrinum}, of Southern Europe, Asia, and Africa. In the
        United States the related species with similar habits are
        usually called {grasshoppers}. See {Grasshopper}.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: These insects are at times so numerous in Africa and
           the south of Asia as to devour every green thing; and
           when they migrate, they fly in an immense cloud. In the
           United States the harvest flies are improperly called
           locusts. See {Cicada}.
           [1913 Webster]
  
     {Locust beetle} (Zool.), a longicorn beetle ({Cyllene
        robini[ae]}), which, in the larval state, bores holes in
        the wood of the locust tree. Its color is brownish black,
        barred with yellow. Called also {locust borer}.
  
     {Locust bird} (Zool.) the rose-colored starling or pastor of
        India. See {Pastor}.
  
     {Locust hunter} (Zool.), an African bird; the beefeater.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. [Etymol. uncertain.] (Bot.) The locust tree. See {Locust
        Tree} (definition, note, and phrases).
        [1913 Webster]
  
     {Locust bean} (Bot.), a commercial name for the sweet pod of
        the carob tree.
        [1913 Webster]