LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The grasshoppers are back.
It seems to happen every few years. Southern Nevada is invaded by millions of grasshoppers.
13 Action News has received several videos of the insects hopping around various locations and buzzing around lights in the Las Vegas valley.
There is usually an abundance of grasshoppers when there has been a wet winter and cool spring.
A 1998 article in the Las Vegas Sun talked about a "Plague of 'hoppers" in August of that year.
The Minden-Garnerville and Carson Valley area were hit hard by the hoppers in 2001.
A grasshopper invasion was also reported in the Reno area in 2010.
And, the Nevada Department of Agriculture says they received numerous calls in April 2013 about a large number of grasshoppers in the area, specifically Laughlin, Pahrump, Las Vegas and near Lake Mead.
The good news is that there is usually only one generation per season but there can be two.
The grasshoppers most commonly found in Nevada are the pallid bandwinged grasshopper. It gets its name from the yellow hindwings and large black band that runs around the edge of the wing.
The grasshoppers usually build up first in Southern Nevada and then migrate to northern Nevada.
The grasshoppers aren't considered harmful or dangerous. They are generally just annoying in high numbers.
The average grasshopper can jump a distance of 5 feet as well as 5 feet high because of their powerful hind legs.
