Mormon cricket.

The day we passed through the road was swarming with these creatures which resemble locusts. They are a great pest and several times have created local disaster conditions with their depredations.

A flock of beautiful iridescent bluebirds was swooping down on the crickets and thousands had been squashed by passing vehicles, but the swarm was so big it did not seem to reduce their numbers by much.

This factsheet gives more information if you want to know more about 'Anabrus simplex Haldeman'.

For a detailed history of crickets and grasshoppers in Utah (including 'The Miracle of the Birds') see 'Pestiferous Ironclads: the grasshopper problem in pioneer Utah'.

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8 of 10 updated 16 Oct 2001