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Desert locust

Dean's highest Waloff airspeed cell for the desert locust is 20.8 mph (9.3 m/s), n=12, free flying. His prose summarizes Waloff 1972 as 20.5 ± 1.9 mph (33 ± 3 km/h) from 15 individuals.

A desert locust can travel 20.8 mph (9.3 m/s), a verified measurement.

Also known as Schistocerca gregaria
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Top speed

Published as 9.3 m/sPublished as 9.3 m/sPublished as 9.3 m/s

Dean, Chapter 1, Table 1. Highest Waloff 1972 airspeed cell: 20.8 mph (9.3 m/s), n=12, average, airspeed, free flying. Dean's prose says 15 individuals reached an average of 20.5 ± 1.9 mph (33 ± 3 km/h) (mean ± SE), citing the same Waloff 1972 paper. 20.8 mph (9.3 m/s) is 20.8 mph (33.5 km/h). The figure is the table cell, 20.8 mph (9.3 m/s). The sample-size difference, 12 versus 15, is extra detail. A Quero et al. 2001 cell of 17.7 mph (7.9 m/s) is filed under Schistocerca in the table even though the prose uses that citation for a corn earworm, so the corn earworm is not a row.

VerifiedUniversity of Florida, Department of Entomology and Nematology (opens source in a new tab)

In context

  • 89% of Usain Bolt's 100 m world-record paceSourced · Usain Bolt, 100 m in 9.58 s. World Athletics, Berlin 2009. Averaged over the race
  • 32% of a cheetah's timed top speedSourced · Cheetah, 29 m/s. Sharp 1997, mean of three timed runs over 201.2 m
  • A football field in 9.8 sConstant · American football field, 100 yd (91.44 m)

Worked out from the sourced figure above, which stays the ranked number.

Quick answers

People also ask

How fast can a desert locust travel?

A desert locust can travel 20.8 mph (9.3 m/s), a verified measurement.

Is that figure claimed or verified?

Desert locust is labeled Verified. Independently measured and published, for example in a peer-reviewed study or with certified timing.

What is the source?

The figure cites University of Florida, Department of Entomology and Nematology, “Book of Insect Records, Chapter 1, Waloff 9.3 m/s cell.”

Where does Desert locust rank?

Desert locust is 3rd of 10 on Fastest Insects.

Mechanism

Why it's so fast

The desert locust is ranked at 20.8 mph (9.3 m/s), Dean’s highest Waloff 1972 airspeed cell, n=12, free flying. Dean’s key of about 2.2 mph per m/s puts that near 20 mph. His prose summarizes the same paper as 20.5 ± 1.9 mph (33 ± 3 km/h) from 15 individuals.

Airspeed
20.8 mph (9.3 m/s), n=12
Prose
20.5 ± 1.9 mph (33 ± 3 km/h), n=15
Method
Free flight

  1. The cell, not the summary

    20.8 mph (9.3 m/s). Multiplying 9.3 by 3.6 gives 20.8 mph (33.5 km/h), close to the prose average of 20.5 mph (33 km/h). The table’s sample is 12 and the prose says 15. The comparison uses the published cell, 20.8 mph (9.3 m/s), and leaves the count mismatch beside the main figure. The code is A / A / FF: average airspeed, free flying.

  2. The corn earworm is not here

    Dean’s prose gives a corn earworm 17.4 mph (28 km/h) via Quero et al. 2001. The bibliography and the table attach that paper to Schistocerca, at 17.7 mph (7.9 m/s) in a wind tunnel. A mis-filed citation is not turned into a second species.

Provenance

Every measurement

Claimed, measured and official figures side by side, each with its source. The ranked figure is marked.

  1. 33.5km/h20.8mph9.3m/s18.1knRanked figure

    Dean, Chapter 1, Table 1. Highest Waloff 1972 airspeed cell: 20.8 mph (9.3 m/s), n=12, average, airspeed, free flying. Dean's prose says 15 individuals reached an average of 20.5 ± 1.9 mph (33 ± 3 km/h) (mean ± SE), citing the same Waloff 1972 paper. 20.8 mph (9.3 m/s) is 20.8 mph (33.5 km/h). The figure is the table cell, 20.8 mph (9.3 m/s). The sample-size difference, 12 versus 15, is extra detail. A Quero et al. 2001 cell of 17.7 mph (7.9 m/s) is filed under Schistocerca in the table even though the prose uses that citation for a corn earworm, so the corn earworm is not a row.

    Dean's prose says 15 individuals and 20.5 ± 1.9 mph (33 ± 3 km/h). The highest matching table cell is 20.8 mph (9.3 m/s) with n=12. The comparison uses the cell.

    Verified
    University of Florida, Department of Entomology and Nematology (opens source in a new tab)

Reference

Specs

Species
Schistocerca gregaria
Table airspeed
20.8 mph (9.3 m/s), n=12
Prose summary
20.5 ± 1.9 mph (33 ± 3 km/h), n=15

Context

Background

Dean calls the desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria, one of the two highest reliably measured insect airspeeds in the refereed literature. The prose says 15 individuals averaged 20.5 ± 1.9 mph (33 ± 3 km/h) (mean ± standard error) in Waloff 1972. Table 1's highest Waloff airspeed cell is 20.8 mph (9.3 m/s), coded average, airspeed, free flying, with n=12. Nine point three meters per second is about 20.8 mph (33.5 km/h). The figure is 20.8 mph (9.3 m/s), qualifier verified.

The prose count of 15 and the table count of 12 are not the same sample. The rank follows the published cell and leaves the summary beside the main figure. Dean's prose also gives the corn earworm 17.4 mph (28 km/h) via Quero et al. 2001, but the bibliography and the table attach that paper to Schistocerca, at 17.7 mph (7.9 m/s) in a wind tunnel. That citation does not support a separate corn-earworm row.

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