Grasshoppers are making a comeback in Nevada this year after their invasion of the strip in 2019. The widely heard crisis of climate change is only one of the reasons why these insects are being seen more in this area. In the past years they would relocate to the city in search of food due to the dry desert and low vegetation. Now it is the opposite. Due to a more wet winter there is an abundance of vegetation, but the grasshoppers are still getting concentrated into the city. That is because they are attracted to lights, and Las Vegas contains some extremely bright lights.
Grasshopper’s strip invasion @CNN’s video Tweet
Grasshoppers also known as locusts, like hot dry conditions with good vegetation. When they’re mature they stop growing, surprisingly they do not carry any disease, and rarely bite. Although, they can be very destructive to crops and other plants. Nevada is not very famous for producing crops, so typically, that is not something to worry about.
https://lasvegassun.com/news/2023/jul/10/grasshopper-population-in-southern-nevada-still-in/ Two grasshoppers on pavement
The grasshoppers usually migrate around June and leave in October. With September already here, it’s only a matter of time until Las Vegas is freed from these green critters that some find friendly, and others terrifying.
A standard grasshopper