The Rocky Mountain Locust:
From Profusion to Mysterious Extinction
Jeffrey Lockwood
- Professor of Natural Sciences & Humanities, Director of the Creative Writing Program, University of Wyoming
Jeffrey Lockwood earned a PhD in entomology from Louisiana State University and worked for 15 years as an insect ecologist at the University of Wyoming. In 2003, he metamorphosed into a professor of natural sciences & humanities in the Department of Philosophy, where he teaches environmental ethics and philosophy of ecology. He also directs a program in creative writing and teaches workshops in nonfiction. His writing has been honored with a Pushcart Prize, the John Burroughs Award, and has been included in the yearly anthology, The Best American Science and Nature Writing.
If it is difficult to imagine three trillion insects passing overhead in 1875, it is even more challenging to grasp that less than 30 years after the “perfect swarm” passed over the Great Plains, the Rocky Mountain locust disappeared. What might we learn about ecology, conservation, science and, ultimately, ourselves from the life and death of such a remarkable creature?
Enjoy a build-your-own ice cream sundae bar with the optional topping of chocolate-covered crickets!
3:00 - 4:15 p.m.