Las Vegas is facing a grasshopper invasion of Biblical proportions
It might be time to accept that the city of Las Vegas is now lost to us humans. It belongs to the grasshoppers now.
Swarms of the winged insect have overrun the Nevada city in the past week, making parts of Sin City look like they've been inflicted with a Biblical plague. But these aren't locusts; they're desert-native pallid-winged grasshoppers, and they're behaving normally.
That's what Nevada's state entomologist Jeff Knight told CNN. The insect's numbers grow following wet winters and springs, and those increased numbers are in evidence when they make their annual migration.
"We'll have flights about this time of the year, migrations, and they'll move northward," Knight said.
A report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released in June included Nevada as one of the wettest states for the first five months of 2019. The rainfall there nearly doubled the national average.
All of which means: grasshoppers. Tons of 'em. The facts and science explaining why they're present in such huge numbers don't mean much when you're looking at a swarm of these terrifying alien beasts from feet away. And social media is filled with nightmare-inducing examples on Saturday.
I hate this so, so much.
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I... I can't do this anymore. These videos are too much. Everyone in Las Vegas: flee. Never go back. Your city belongs to the grasshoppers now.
Topics Animals
Adam Rosenberg is a Senior Games Reporter for Mashable, where he plays all the games. Every single one. From AAA blockbusters to indie darlings to mobile favorites and browser-based oddities, he consumes as much as he can, whenever he can.Adam brings more than a decade of experience working in the space to the Mashable Games team. He previously headed up all games coverage at Digital Trends, and prior to that was a long-time, full-time freelancer, writing for a diverse lineup of outlets that includes Rolling Stone, MTV, G4, Joystiq, IGN, Official Xbox Magazine, EGM, 1UP, UGO and others.Born and raised in the beautiful suburbs of New York, Adam has spent his life in and around the city. He's a New York University graduate with a double major in Journalism and Cinema Studios. He's also a certified audio engineer. Currently, Adam resides in Crown Heights with his dog and his partner's two cats. He's a lover of fine food, adorable animals, video games, all things geeky and shiny gadgets.
