Invasion of the Mormon Crickets

Areas of Northern Nevada along streams are now overrun with these 3"-long creatures. The tiny town of Owyhee seems particularly hard-hit. They smell terrible, move around in large bands, and in some years these bands may include millions of individuals, with a population density of as much as 100 per square yard!

The females lay 100 eggs, and they hatch all at once. They eat grasses, shrubs, and each other. Early Mormons had a bad problem with the critters. To read about the Miracle of the Gulls, click here.

I wonder what this town did to deserve this plague!


When a large band crosses the road it can cause a safety hazard. Drivers experience a "distracted revulsion," and the road is slick with cricket fluids. Crickets stop and snack on their friends' carcasses, creating even more of a crunchy, slimy mess. How can something this stupid not be extinct?