Mormon Cricket

Mormon crickets aren't crickets—they're flightless katydids that independently evolved locust-like phase transitions. When crowded, solitary individuals transform into marching bands that sweep across western North American rangelands. Unable to fly, they walk in dense columns, covering up to 2 kilometers daily. The bands can span kilometers in width and contain millions of individuals, devouring vegetation as they march.

The marching behavior reveals a dark motivation: cannibalism drives movement. Mormon crickets are protein-starved; they readily consume injured or slow individuals. Walking crickets that stop are eaten by those behind them. The band maintains forward motion because stopping means death—not from predators but from neighbors. Research demonstrated this by painting crickets and tracking fates: individuals that stopped moving were consumed within minutes. The swarm moves because standing still is suicide.

This creates self-organizing forward momentum. No leader directs movement; individual survival instincts produce collective march. The protein starvation that drives cannibalism also drives agricultural damage—crickets seek any protein source, devastating crops and rangelands. The business parallel reveals how individual survival pressures can create collective movement. Organizations where falling behind means elimination—sales teams, tournament-style promotions, competitive markets—may develop Mormon cricket dynamics. The collective moves forward not through shared vision but through fear of being consumed by those behind. The behavior emerges from individual self-preservation, not group coordination.