As Napoleon extended his control across Italy at the start of the 19th century he faced two unexpected foes, the locust and the mosquito. Although both insects created challenges for Napoleon’s administration, French awareness of these threats differed markedly. While locust infestations posed an evident danger to grain harvests, scientists had not yet identified the role of the mosquito as a vector for malaria. These cases thus present an opportunity to examine the ways in which the presence or absence of scientific knowledge can shape human relationships with other species. In the case of the mosquito, ignorance of the connection between insects and disease caused French officials to vacillate between proposed solutions. By contrast, French officials engaged in a deliberate campaign to eradicate locust populations. Yet ironically, while the direct effort against locusts achieved only partial success, French experts examining the problem of malaria advanced strategies of environmental transformation that would prove increasingly successful in eradicating the disease in the years to come. These contrasting outcomes illuminate the complex ways in which animal agency interacts with science and state power to shape historical events. Although it is important to recognize the power of insects to “speak” through their influence in human history, it is equally necessary to understand the impact of animal “silence” as constituted through human ignorance. Likewise, while modern government has often sought to make the environment more “legible,” state projects are often profoundly influenced by a complex array
