When Locusts Fly

Locusts cannot fly when their bodies are cold. Hence, when the temperature drops in the evening, they commonly take shelter in hedges or in the crevices of walls. The muscles of these insects remain stiff until they are warmed by the sun. Not until locusts have a body temperature of about 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21° C.) are they able to fly.

These facts about locusts aid in understanding Nahum 3:17, which reads: “Your guardsmen are like the locust, and your recruiting officers like the locust swarm. They are camping in the stone pens in a cold day. The sun itself has but to shine forth, and away they certainly flee; and their place is really unknown where they are.” Like locusts, the guardsmen and recruiting officers of Nineveh would disappear on account of the heat of the siege. Their disappearance would be just as sudden as the departure of a locust swarm warmed by the sun’s rays.