How advanced would human civilization get if it was destroyed by insects every 20 years?
In this world there has been a recurring population surge of ferocious insects every 20 years for many centuries. The setting is approximately our own time in relation to the existence of "cave men". In other words, since around the time humans began to create things and have fire, essentially stone age technology, there has been a plague of insect attacks which very nearly destroy the population every 20 years. Consider the cicada: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cicada and the locust: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locust merging the two behavioral characteristics into a larger insect which feeds primarily on humans. Possibly feeding on other mammals as well, presumably due to the weakness of exposed skin and that they are warm blooded.
How far could human civilization progress given this hindrance in individual development? If they were able to advance similarly, how would civilization be different? How might humans evolve over this time span?
I am looking for answers which are realistic, but some creative leeway is allowed. No explicitly magical answers please.
Points to keep in mind (derived from answers):
- The insects have a life-cycle like a cicada and feed like locusts but on flesh.
- The adult insect is slightly smaller than your head (not including wings).
- Humans are a prime target but the insects feed on other warm blooded creatures
- The eggs and larval stage exist in hidden and spread out locations, under ground or deep in caves.
- The attacks are horrible and many people die, but there are enough survivors to keep the human population from going extinct.
Edit: Not just any Cicada, specifically the Periodic Cicada: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Periodical_cicadas
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1 answer
Presumably the insects swarm, gorge, breed, then either die or hibernate. Then come out in force 20 years later after the eggs have hatched and the larvae mature into adults who can fly and who need human blood in order to support breeding.
Humans have 20 years to find and kill the eggs or to kill the larvae. If the eggs are grouped together, then fire is something even primitive peoples can handle. If the eggs are in clusters but the clusters are spread out, lots of kids with pointy sticks will do the trick. If they're very spread out or in inaccessible places, it's harder.
This should reduce the population of killer insects enough that more humans survive. After a few generations, there are fewer eggs/larvae to kill and more humans to do it.
The pressures to do this more efficiently will help drive technology, communication, education, and more.
All the things in other answers will come into play:
- Better housing (or at least strong shelters with a water source and food storage to last a few days or weeks)
- Protective clothing
- Food preservation
- Calendars
- Methods to predict the swarms
- Surveillance techniques to know when the swarms have gone
- Containers to store food and water
- Indoor cooking methods
- Light sources
- Ventilation methods
- Understanding geology and movement of water including underground sources
- Well building
Differences with a real-life society?
- Their religion will probably be on 20 year cycles and be focused on the plague.
- They will be obsessed with calendars and weather prediction.
- Material science and engineering will be advanced.
- Exploration will be a high priority (finding a region the bugs can't get them).
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