The images look like the apocalypse. Parts of Nevada are overrun by an invasion of flying insects. Locals are currently battling millions of “Mormon crickets”. In Elko, a town in northeastern Nevada, crickets converged on Monday, covering roads, vegetation and even the walls of the local hospital, several American media reports including CNN as spotted by Le Figaro.
“To get patients into the hospital, we sent people in with snowblowers, brooms, and even a tractor with a snowplow to push the piles of crickets forward,” said Steve Burrows , director of community relations at the Northeastern Nevada Regional Hospital, told local television station KSL.
Elko Nevada is under attack. ����Video credit: ��cristenroses pic.twitter.com/6LZZG9rgoA
Mormon crickets are also cannibalistic and if their stomachs are not full they will eat each other dead or alive. In large quantities, their diet contributes to soil erosion, poor water quality, soil nutrient depletion and other land damage. They prefer drought conditions and can cause “substantial economic losses to pastures, croplands, and home gardens,” according to the university. The Huffington Post recalls that between 2001 and 2003, the passage of these crickets in Utah caused damage estimated up to 25 million dollars.