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In Oregon, state lawmakers in recent years have allocated millions of dollars to assess the problem and set up a Mormon cricket and grasshopper “suppression” program.

The Mormon cricket is not a true cricket but a shield-backed katydid.

Tens of thousands of Mormon cricket eggs buried about an inch deep in the soil began to hatch in late May and early June.

The Southwest is experiencing a severe drought, which the university said “encourages Mormon cricket outbreaks” that may last five to 21 years and “cause substantial economic losses to rangeland, cropland and home gardens.”

Since the 1990s, the Mormon cricket population has been surging, particularly in Nevada, the University of Nevada, Reno, said.