Large winged insect of the family Acrididae whose name is also a synonym for the carob bean crossword

The locust belongs to the Acrididae family. It is a large insect with wings and has held human attention for centuries because it forms immense swarms that strip crops plus vegetation from whole provinces. The word “locust” also names the carob, an evergreen tree of the Mediterranean that bears long pods. Both uses come from the ancient Greek “akris,” which meant the insect and the fruit alike. People linked the two because the narrow carob pod resembles a locust body. Written records from many cultures but also faiths describe the ruin those swarms bring. A locust horde devours every leaf and stalk in its path - farmers have fought it with every tool they could devise. Even as pests locusts fit into food webs. Reptiles as well as mammals eat them and their bodies return nutrients to the soil. Climate shifts and other pressures now disturb the cycles that keep their numbers in check - researchers or governments face the urgent task of predicting and limiting future outbreaks.