Mormon crickets descend into Idaho

Mormon crickets are moving through Oneida County in southeastern Idaho and damaging valuable farm crops, according to agriculture officials. Mormon crickets are known to cause damage to crops and rangeland if they break out in large swarms. The small insect, related to the grasshopper, doesn’t fly but can migrate great distances and travel in wide bands. Mormon crickets are common in southern Idaho but populations have been low over the past two years, according to USDA information provided to the newspaper. The last outbreak was in 2006 in eastern Idaho. Scientists are still unsure what causes the cricket outbreaks. In Oneida County, Mormon crickets have been counted as high as 15 crickets per square yard...more