I left Reno for B. C. by way of US-95, through Nevada, a bit of Oregon and into Southern Idaho. Towards dark I was in the volcanic sagebrush plateau above the Snake River plain when I began to see stuff on the road. I at first thought it was leaves (in June in the desert?) but soon realized that there were reddish paths where car wheels had passed, and that the road was getting a little slippery. Then I realized that the "leaves" on the side of the road were moving. Eventually, after several miles, I came to a scenic view pullout and stopped. The entire area was covered by large flightless insects -- 1 1/2 to 2 inches in length (at least as large as a large man's thumb). The ground was covered with these critters -- 6 or 8 inches apart, all headed downhill to the rich agricultural plain visible in the distance a thousand feet below.
A truck driver who had also stopped to look at these things said he thought they might be "Mormon Crickets" which he said were the plague that the seagulls saved the Mormons from their first summer in the Valley of the Great Salt Lake.
There had to be tens of millions of these things (what's 2 or 3 per square foot multiplied by a 10 mile circle?). All headed exactly the same direction downhill towards the irrigated plain.
I thought perhaps one of our Idaho brethren could tell me what these are, did they get to the crops, and what was done to control them. Did they make Gary Hubler a hero? (They were headed straight toward Caldwell, where thre Hublers are based). Does this happen often? How do they know where food and moisture are -- from many miles away?
Neal
A truck driver who had also stopped to look at these things said he thought they might be "Mormon Crickets" which he said were the plague that the seagulls saved the Mormons from their first summer in the Valley of the Great Salt Lake.
There had to be tens of millions of these things (what's 2 or 3 per square foot multiplied by a 10 mile circle?). All headed exactly the same direction downhill towards the irrigated plain.
I thought perhaps one of our Idaho brethren could tell me what these are, did they get to the crops, and what was done to control them. Did they make Gary Hubler a hero? (They were headed straight toward Caldwell, where thre Hublers are based). Does this happen often? How do they know where food and moisture are -- from many miles away?
Neal
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