“It’s almost like a biblical plague.” Tens of thousands of Mormon crickets have infiltrated northern Nevada, and the big red critters have been causing chaos for weeks.
Jeremiah Moore has a cricket climb onto his arm during the migration of Mormon crickets, Saturday, June 17, 2023, in Spring Creek, Nev. Outbreaks of Mormon crickets, which are native to the Great Basin and Intermountain West, have been recorded throughout history across the west, from Nevada and Montana to Idaho, Utah and Oregon. ELKO, Nev. — Dana Dolan was driving through her small Nevada hometown when she thought she had come upon a gory crash.
The invasion of the cannibalistic crickets has hit especially hard in Elko, a small town of about 20,000 near Idaho and Utah known for its gold mining. The red creatures blanket highways and scuttle over barriers, seeking food. They crackle and pop under the wheels of trucks, creating something like an oil slick, said Jeremiah Moore of Spring Creek, whose vehicle slid off the road after a highway encounter with the Mormon crickets.
Outbreaks of Mormon crickets, which are native to the Great Basin and Intermountain West, have been recorded throughout history across the west — from Nevada and Montana to Idaho, Utah and Oregon. There are records of infestations dating to the 1930s, according to entomologist Knight. The Mormon cricket is not a true cricket but a shield-backed katydid. They are flightless but travel together in “bands” that can range in size from 5 acres acres to hundreds of acres, Knight said.The crickets hatched far later than their usual springtime birth, delayed by an especially wet spring and snow-packed winter in northern Nevada, Knight said.
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