Question

thinking about the monarchs gave lockwood and debrey a new way to look at the locust mystery. instead of focusing on the swarming phases of the locust and trying to explain the disappearance of trillions of locusts spread over a vast area, they looked at the years between outbreaks. maps from the late 1800s pinpointed the locations of the locusts’ permanent breeding zones in the river valleys of wyoming and montana. a much smaller population of the insects had lived undisturbed in these areas for thousands of years. how are the river valleys of wyoming and montana similar to the oyamel fir trees in mexico?
options:

• both contain plants for a type of insect to destroy.
• both have been damaged by swarms of locusts.
• both have been winter homes to butterflies.
• both provide places for a type of insect to live.

Explanation:

To solve this, we analyze each option:

1. Option 1: The text focuses on locusts’ breeding zones and monarchs’ winter homes (oyamel fir trees in Mexico). The river valleys of WY/MT had undisturbed insect populations, and oyamel firs in Mexico are monarchs’ winter homes. So both provide insect habitats.
2. Option 2: The text says locusts’ breeding zones were undisturbed (not damaged), and monarchs’ trees (oyamel firs) aren’t mentioned as damaged. Eliminate.
3. Option 3: The locusts’ areas had “undisturbed” populations (no destruction of plants), and monarchs’ trees are for wintering, not destruction. Eliminate.
4. Option 4: The river valleys of WY/MT are for locusts’ breeding (not winter homes), while oyamel firs in Mexico are monarchs’ winter homes. So they don’t both have winter homes for butterflies. Eliminate.

Answer:

Both provide places for a type of insect to live.