| Show I 8E Davis Standard Tuesday May 18 1999 Hordes of Mormon crickets ready to invade Western states Press The Associated The Mormon Cricket SALT LAKE CITY - It sounds like a horror movie: Biblical hordes of big black bugs swarming thiough Western ranges destroying almost everything in their path But experts - who are already counting about a million Mormon cnckets every few acres in fields about an hour from here -say the horror could be real this summer “They’re big and they’re ugly and they’re really frightening” said Larry Sandval an entomologist with the University of Idaho’s extension service in Aberdeen More katydid than cricket or grasshopper Mormon crickets could infest more than 1300 square miles of land in western and central Utah this year causing millions of dollars in damage to crops This past week poison bait was spread to combat the pests “We feel this is going to be a bad year” said Ed Bianco Utah's state entomologist But the infestation won’t be limited to just one state Thick clumps of crickets have been spotted in north-centrWyoming and poison bait has been set out around about 80 acres of rangeland there said Alan Pomeroy weed and pest supervisor for southern Big Horn County In northwestern Colorado extension agents are bracing to respond to calls from farmers for help It won’t be the first time the crickets have invaded insects got The their name from early Mormon settlers who faced an infestation in 1848 that nearly cost them their food supply With typical frontier hyperbole the settlers described the voracious critters as a cross between a spider and a buffalo Scientific name: Anabrus simplex Food: Eats a wide variety of food and has been seen to eat more than 400 species of plants Prefers milkvetches dandelion wild mustards and balsamroot Will eat sagebrush some grasses seeds fungi and other insects Also prefers crops like wheat barley alfalfa clover and garden vegetables At a density of one cricket per square yard they can eat 38 pounds of gram per acre Eight crickets per square yard is considered infestation Range: Utah Idaho Colorado Wyoming Nevada New Mexico Life cycle: Nymphs are bom in early spring and stay near hatch sites as they grow through their first four stages Then they form bands and begin migration covering up to 50 miles in the summer by crawling and hopping In late summer females lay as many as 60 eggs each below the surface in dirt fields before dying Eggs develop through late fall then go dormant for the winter Size: Grow through seven stages called instars ranging from inch in the first instar to approximately two inches as adults Source: University of Wyoming Mormon Cricket Fact Sheet about thick-skinne- two d Local highways were even shut down when the crushed bodies of thousands of crickets made the roads as slick as ice “I’ve seen bands where even a creek wouldn’t stop their movements” Lewis said “It’s ugly wicked” More than 1 50 years ago Utah’s Mormon settlers thought the same thing After arriving and planting wheat and com they faced an onslaught of crickets that nearly left them starving well-armor- Long before that Native Americans included the protein-ric- h insects in their diet cooked remains found in a cave in Wyoming are estimated to be nearly 2000 years old This year’s infestation comes with a new problem - a lack of cash to combat it For years the US Department of Agriculture has helped Utah Idaho Wyoming Nevada and Colorado fight At The Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy we want to help women stay healchier That’s why during May we encourage you to come to our women’s health event for A free written osteoporosis risk assessment and information on now to prevent and treat osteoporosis - a potentially debilitating disease that causes weakened bones Free educational information on women’s 10-fo- ot health Fee: $75 Date: Clearfield May 19 May 20 Ogden Time: 10 am - 5 pm Both Days - Thus was bom what members of The Church of Christ of Latter-day Saints call “the miracle of the gulls” According to the lore flocks of seabirds suddenly appeared to eat thousands of the crickets and allow the settlers to recover their crops But historian Will Bagley said the gulls that live around the Great Salt Lake routinely make meals of the pesky critters and ate just barely enough that year to stave off catastrophe “Even in the course of the seagull miracle crickets devastated the crops and the gulls didn’t protect the crops or solve the problems" he said In fact Bagley said the infestation continued in 1 849 and was so bad that by the some settlers considered pressing on to California Jesse N Smith who arrived in the Salt Lake Valley in September 1847 wrote in his journal that the insects emerged the next summer like an army Settlers first tried to fight them off with You may need You’re a issues or older and not currently on Estrogen Replacement Therapy or medications for the prevention of osteoporosis You haven’t been screened for specific lifestyle risk factors and medication use regarding osteoporosis You’re 50 years Offers valid at the following The Medicine Shoppe locations: Inside Macey’s Clearfield - 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now about half an inch long and in their fourth of seven stages before they come State University that just finished testing whether the Beauveria bassiana fungus could reduce cricket populations their reach" Today’s fanners prefer to go after the crickets with more powerful weapons particularly since modem landfills offer the gulls more tempting fare “There probably aren’t enough birds to take care of all the crickets” Bianco said “We just don’t know of enough natural controls to take care of the large bands” There have been scattered searches for alternatives to pesti-ddincluding one at Montana sticks and dubs then formed barriers with burned cricket corpses But the cannibalistic hordes simply munched through the toasted remains “We first turned the water in the ditches around the field but found that the crickets pushed boldly into the water without hesitancy or turning their course ” he wrote “They were very’ voracious eating every green thing within Product 28i87 Limit one per customer Not valid with any other offer At participating pharmacies Enpirti 63099 ©1999 Medicine Shoppe International Inc a Cardinal Health Company 250a j 199 Not valid with state or federally funded prescription plans or with or deductible 1100)1 one per any other offer required y customer "No ash refund 'State and local restrictions apply I Expires 83099 Ji L XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXE Thanks a Million SYNDICATED COLUMN by PERCY ROSS Millionaire Percy Ross is known for his philanthropic work He offers help and encouragement for those in need He has earned a fortune and a wealth of knowledge during his lifetime and wants to share both His motto: He who gives while he lives also knows where it goes ’ WEEKLY Worse Than Scum On The Bottom Rung TDeaU H HINCKLEY DODGE m 2310 Wash Blvd 394-884- M M M H H M H H M !m H iq 4 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxt! Dear Mr Ross: My greatest concern is for my 3 nieces The oldest age 1 1 recently confided in me that her dad has been sexually molesting her for years When I confronted their mother (my sister) with what I had learned she denied everything I believed my niece Mr Ross and I was not going to let this ordeal pass When I threatened to get the authorities involved my brother-in-lacaved and admitted to his filthy repulsive acts Now everyone is in counseling I but there will be no jail time (or my brother-in-lathink this is wrong but then I don’t make the laws I can’t stand the sight of this man Relations are equally strained with my sister Finally these two dull bulbs suggested that my 1 1 year old niece come to live with me It will mean registering her in a new school because we live 150 can handle most expenses-T- m miles apart single working and no children However want my niece to continue therapy 3 times a week My insurance won’t cover her so I’ll have to pay out of pocket It will run roughly $420 a month I teel this is extremely necessary and equally as important as food clothing and shelter I’ll provide the latter if you’ll help with the former I’m determined to undo everything her father has done to her Please help us Miss M D Community Newspapers Wayne Ml w I I i Ifyou ' - would like to $ be a sponsor of Dear Mist D: I don’t know if It’s possible to ever find forgiveness for the vile acts your brother-in-lahas performed on his daughter Over my 62 years I’ve found forgiveness for many acts I initially found irreconcilable but child molestation will never be one of them Granted stuff can happen during one’s childhood but a parent's role Is to protect that child-nto be the source of the shame and guilt inflicted upon the child It would be easier for me to understand why a murder than it person could commit is for me to understand child molestation And I dare say if anyone can change my mind let them w ot Thanks a cold-blood- come forward As for your niece I’ll provide the first 3 months of therapy at $1260 Keep me posted on her progress I'm deeply concerned Dear Mr Ross: I come to you a broken dying man Five years ago I learned I was HIV positive which eventually turned into full blown AIDS At the time was diagnosed I was married with 2 young boys-- 2 and 5 Now my boys are 7 and 1 0 and my wife has long since left me Actually we divorced and got full custody of the boys She's maintained pretty good relations with our children and after I die the boys will go to live with her Children can be very perceptive and we've had some long talks about dying The boys think have a bad cancer It’s better this way Society still has a stigma towards AIDS and their lives are painful enough My intent is not although rereading my letter so tar smacks of the ‘poor me' On to the practical Health insurance has been pretty good in covering my staggering medical bills The one financial burden I’m going to leave my family will be burial costs I would prefer to my funeral but a bank loan is out of the question for obvious reasons Cremation and a simple service can be done for about $2200 including a headstone I don't know it asking you is the right thing I guess I’ve run out of having answers Mr J B The Shopper Tucson A Z I I I self-pit- ev Custom Home 4 Bdrms 3 Baths Hardwood Floors Rambler Design Island Kitchen Buill-i- n Vaulted Ceilings Bookcases Two-lon- e Paint Im Crown Moldings y IN EAST L A VTON NEAR NORTHRHXiE HIGH SCHOOL pre-pa- y $179500 suffwiftBar 547-813- 3 homes Mobile Phone: 390-757- 6 Ask about buyer Incentives! B: Something struck me about your there is no room for negotiating Many time I can meet an Individual halfway or show an alternative route Not so with death d beMake your necessary arrangements cause I'm sending the $2200 I'm truly sorry your young life has been cut short I also feel for your boys A father is so Important In molding young minds May your legacy continue through them Dear Mr request and that Is pre-pai- wwwthanksamillioncom PO Box 39000-Mpls MN 55439 Include your phone number All letters are read Only a lew are answered In this column others may be acknowledged privately Wnte Percy Rota cJo the Standard-Examin- er i Inventory Clearance Sale on REBUILT VACUUMS first" it Hour Service Response Any Day 01 The Week! 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