Giant Insects Threaten Montana Roads: Potential for Disasters

Let me preface this by telling you a little something about myself that I am NOT proud of. I have had a childhood fear of grasshoppers. I had one land on my face when I was a child and I have been apprehensive around them ever since. So keep that in mind when I tell you about this weird critter I found.

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I spent some much-needed time in the great outdoors this past weekend. Discovering new elk hunting country in southwest Montana. While on my hike, I came across a strange creature. It was about 3 inches long. It had an inch-long "stinger" and was jet black. I resembled a cricket, yet it was the size of a BIC lighter. You can only imagine how thrilled I was to find hundreds of these things littered along the trail. What was it?

I did some quick research when I returned to civilization. I found that the creature is very common in the high plains like Utah, Idaho, and Nevada. They are called "Mormon Crickets" and it turns out they can be a problem.

A giant population of Mormon Crickets has been making roads in Nevada dangerous to drive this year.

According to Deseret.com

The Eureka County Sheriff’s Office said on social media that city agencies and the Nevada State Police had to respond to multiple crashes on the highway due to the combination of rain and Mormon crickets.

“Mormon Crickets and Rain make roadways EXTREMELY slick and unpredictable for stopping distance,” said the sheriff’s office in a release. Crushed crickets leave a sludge that makes the road slick and slippery.

Could the population of these giant creepy critters get large enough to cause havoc on Montana roads? I can tell you from my experience with them that they do have a good amount of "guts" when you step on one. You can only imagine what would happen if you ran over thousands of them on the highway.