Lo″cust (?), n. [L. locusta locust, grasshopper. Cf. Lobster.] 1. (Zoöl.) Any one of numerous species of long-winged, migratory, orthopterous insects, of the family Acrididæ, allied to the grasshoppers; esp., (Edipoda, orPachytylus, 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.
☞ 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.
Locust beetle(Zoöl.), a longicorn beetle (Cyllene robiniæ), 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(Zoöl.) the rose-colored starling or pastor of India. See Pastor. — Locust hunter(Zoöl.), an African bird; the beefeater.
2. (Bot.) The locust tree. See Locust Tree (definition, note, and phrases).
Locust bean(Bot.), a commercial name for the sweet pod of the carob tree.