Six-legged Soldiers: Using Insects as Weapons of War
Encyclopedia
Six-Legged Soldiers: Using Insects as Weapons of War is a nonfiction scientific warfare book written by award-winning author and University of Wyoming
professor, Jeffrey A. Lockwood
. Published in 2008 by Oxford University Press
, the book explores the history of bioterrorism
, entomological warfare
, biological warfare
, and the prevention of agro-terrorism
from the earliest times to modern threats. Lockwood, an entomologist, preceded this book with Ethical issues in biological control (1997) and Locust: The devastating rise and mysterious disappearance of the insect that shaped the American frontier (2004), among others.
ing beehive
s ("bee bombs") across a castle wall, civilians as human guinea pigs in an effort to weaponize the plague
, bombarding civilians from the air with infection-bearing insects, and assassin bugs placed on prisoners to eat away their flesh. Lockwood also describes a domestic ecoterrorism example with the 1989 threat to release the Medfly (Ceratitis capitata) within California's crop belt. The last chapter highlights western nations' vulnerability to terrorist attacks.
Interviewed about the book by BBC Radio 4
's Today programme
, the author describes how a terrorist with a suitcase could bring diseases into a country. "I think a small terrorist cell could very easily develop an insect-based weapon."
criticised the book as being "scarcely scholarly" for its mixed collection of myth, legend and historical facts.
The Author Replies:
Reviewers have described themselves as skeptics and asserted that Six-Legged Soldiers is “devoid of rigour” or “scarcely scholarly.” What such folks seem to have missed is that I share their doubts (e.g., the US military weaponized yellow fever mosquitoes during the Cold War, I don’t believe that the Americans waged wholesale entomological warfare against North Korea or Cuba). As I noted in the preface of the book:
It is my sense that human organizations—including universities, religious
associations, corporate enterprises, government laboratories, federal agencies, and
international bodies—have as their primary goal the acquisition and maintenance of power,
not the search for and reporting of the truth.
What I am less skeptical about is the reader, believing that readers of science and history are generally astute folks. As such, I chose to respect their intelligence rather than donning the paternalistic mantle of academic authority (can anybody really claim to be an expert on warfare from the Paleolithic to the present?). As a writer and professor, I am not in the business of sparing people from having to think. Instead, the preface makes clear that:
The reader may be rightfully dubious of various accounts in this book. I know that I am.
In this regard, I should hasten to note that I’ve consciously chosen to be inclusive in my
research, allowing all plausible—even if hard to believe—claims their place in the story.
And so, those who suggest that I endorse various views and reports by virtue of having included them in the book have evidently failed to read the preface. Indeed, careless readers are prone to all sorts of misunderstandings, such as Mr. Hastings of the who suggested that Napoleon’s forces were devastated by “typhus borne by fleas” (the disease being carried by lice) and that Generals Grant and Lee were not “clever or fiendish enough” to employ biological warfare (there is no such claim in the book, although I do contend, along with Civil War historians, that General Johnston unwittingly allied with mosquitoes when he knowingly and effectively inflicted disease on his enemy by pinning down a superior Union force in the malaria-ridden marshes outside of Richmond).
So, for the reader (or reviewer) who wants to understand the perspective from which the book was written, please don’t skip the preface.
University of Wyoming
The University of Wyoming is a land-grant university located in Laramie, Wyoming, situated on Wyoming's high Laramie Plains, at an elevation of 7,200 feet , between the Laramie and Snowy Range mountains. It is known as UW to people close to the university...
professor, Jeffrey A. Lockwood
Jeffrey A. Lockwood
Dr. Jeffrey Alan Lockwood is an award-winning author and University of Wyoming professor of Natural Sciences and Humanities. He writes both nonfiction science books, as well as meditations. Lockwood is the recipient of both the Pushcart Prize and the John Burroughs Medal.Lockwood earned a B.S...
. Published in 2008 by Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. They are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as...
, the book explores the history of bioterrorism
Bioterrorism
Bioterrorism is terrorism involving the intentional release or dissemination of biological agents. These agents are bacteria, viruses, or toxins, and may be in a naturally occurring or a human-modified form. For the use of this method in warfare, see biological warfare.-Definition:According to the...
, entomological warfare
Entomological warfare
Entomological warfare is a type of biological warfare that uses insects to attack the enemy. The concept has existed for centuries and research and development have continued into the modern era...
, biological warfare
Biological warfare
Biological warfare is the use of biological toxins or infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi with intent to kill or incapacitate humans, animals or plants as an act of war...
, and the prevention of agro-terrorism
Agro-terrorism
Agroterrorism, also known as Agriterrorism, is "the malicious use of plant or animal pathogens to cause devastating disease in the agricultural sector...
from the earliest times to modern threats. Lockwood, an entomologist, preceded this book with Ethical issues in biological control (1997) and Locust: The devastating rise and mysterious disappearance of the insect that shaped the American frontier (2004), among others.
Summary
Six-Legged Soldiers gives detailed examples of entomological warfare: using buckets of scorpions during a fortress siege, catapultCatapult
A catapult is a device used to throw or hurl a projectile a great distance without the aid of explosive devices—particularly various types of ancient and medieval siege engines. Although the catapult has been used since ancient times, it has proven to be one of the most effective mechanisms during...
ing beehive
Beehive
A beehive is a structure in which bees live and raise their young.Beehive may also refer to:Buildings and locations:* Bee Hive, Alabama, a neighborhood in Alabama* Beehive , a wing of the New Zealand Parliament Buildings...
s ("bee bombs") across a castle wall, civilians as human guinea pigs in an effort to weaponize the plague
Pandemic
A pandemic is an epidemic of infectious disease that is spreading through human populations across a large region; for instance multiple continents, or even worldwide. A widespread endemic disease that is stable in terms of how many people are getting sick from it is not a pandemic...
, bombarding civilians from the air with infection-bearing insects, and assassin bugs placed on prisoners to eat away their flesh. Lockwood also describes a domestic ecoterrorism example with the 1989 threat to release the Medfly (Ceratitis capitata) within California's crop belt. The last chapter highlights western nations' vulnerability to terrorist attacks.
Interviewed about the book by BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
's Today programme
Today programme
Today is BBC Radio 4's long-running early morning news and current affairs programme, now broadcast from 6.00 am to 9.00 am Monday to Friday, and 7.00 am to 9.00 am on Saturdays. It is also the most popular programme on Radio 4 and one of the BBC's most popular programmes across its radio networks...
, the author describes how a terrorist with a suitcase could bring diseases into a country. "I think a small terrorist cell could very easily develop an insect-based weapon."
Criticism
In its January 2009 review, The Sunday TimesThe Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
criticised the book as being "scarcely scholarly" for its mixed collection of myth, legend and historical facts.
The Author Replies:
Reviewers have described themselves as skeptics and asserted that Six-Legged Soldiers is “devoid of rigour” or “scarcely scholarly.” What such folks seem to have missed is that I share their doubts (e.g., the US military weaponized yellow fever mosquitoes during the Cold War, I don’t believe that the Americans waged wholesale entomological warfare against North Korea or Cuba). As I noted in the preface of the book:
It is my sense that human organizations—including universities, religious
associations, corporate enterprises, government laboratories, federal agencies, and
international bodies—have as their primary goal the acquisition and maintenance of power,
not the search for and reporting of the truth.
What I am less skeptical about is the reader, believing that readers of science and history are generally astute folks. As such, I chose to respect their intelligence rather than donning the paternalistic mantle of academic authority (can anybody really claim to be an expert on warfare from the Paleolithic to the present?). As a writer and professor, I am not in the business of sparing people from having to think. Instead, the preface makes clear that:
The reader may be rightfully dubious of various accounts in this book. I know that I am.
In this regard, I should hasten to note that I’ve consciously chosen to be inclusive in my
research, allowing all plausible—even if hard to believe—claims their place in the story.
And so, those who suggest that I endorse various views and reports by virtue of having included them in the book have evidently failed to read the preface. Indeed, careless readers are prone to all sorts of misunderstandings, such as Mr. Hastings of the who suggested that Napoleon’s forces were devastated by “typhus borne by fleas” (the disease being carried by lice) and that Generals Grant and Lee were not “clever or fiendish enough” to employ biological warfare (there is no such claim in the book, although I do contend, along with Civil War historians, that General Johnston unwittingly allied with mosquitoes when he knowingly and effectively inflicted disease on his enemy by pinning down a superior Union force in the malaria-ridden marshes outside of Richmond).
So, for the reader (or reviewer) who wants to understand the perspective from which the book was written, please don’t skip the preface.