Mormon crickets, described by scientists as cockroaches with grasshopper legs, are seasonal insects that have pervaded the American West for centuries. They hatch after the snow melts in spring, quickly grow to adult size of nearly three inches in length and usually die off by winter. They travel in bands, like locusts, and a single female can lay as many as 80 eggs.
State officials kill the insects by laying poisonous bait. “They have a small effect in killing them off,” said Patrick Lorch, a biological scientist at Kent State University who studies Mormon crickets. “Honestly, there are billions of these crickets out there.” (LATWP)
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