Dozens of Mormon crickets are becoming unwitting spies at Vernal's Dinosaur Monument this month, cluing agricultural researchers in to where they will be going next.
To track the movement patterns of the Mormon cricket, a team of researchers has been gluing miniature radio transmitters to the bodies of the pests that have wreaked havoc on Utah farmland this summer.
Research ecologist Greg Sword said the transmitters, which look like bug-size backpacks, are approximately half the body weight of the crickets and send a signal to the researchers, allowing them to follow the migratory bands of crickets and trace their movements.
Gaining a better understanding of why the crickets go to certain places at certain times will allow the team to better understand the cues that direct the march of the crickets from field to field, Sword said. "We just want to find out what makes them do what they do."
So far, 52 Mormon crickets have been tagged with the monitors, and researchers mark the position of the tagged crickets twice a day.
Mormon crickets, which actually are ground-dwelling katydids, travel in enormous migratory bands and descend on crops unexpectedly, quickly devouring anything that grows.
Larry Lewis, public information officer for the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, said the infestation of Mormon crickets this summer has been the worst in decades and has cost the state more than $25 million in damage.
With new insight into their behavior, Sword said control of the pests may be easier because farmers will know if the insects are going toward their fields and whether they need to put out poisoned bait or drop aerial pesticides to protect their crops.
This summer, Utah has spent more than $300,000 to combat the crickets not only because of the crop damage but also because of the public health and safety concerns the swarms have caused, Lewis said.
Besides leaving behind waste and cricket corpses in water sources, the crickets are especially dangerous when they descend as a cohesive unit on highways.
"When they cross I-15 and get run over they become as slick as snow," Lewis said.
Despite efforts to control the dangers, Lewis said the effectiveness of pesticides and poisoned bait has been "spotty at best."
"Unfortunately, there's just so many of them and so few of us that we're just not winning the war," Lewis said.
Drought conditions have exacerbated the problem this summer because the grass the crickets normally feed on has dried up and the insects have had to turn to farmer's fields for food.
Since Mormon crickets are such generalist feeders, they will consume fields with almost any crops quickly and completely, Sword said.
"When they get into a nice, succulent field, they mow it down," he said.
Researchers will continue tracking the band's movements in Utah until July 20.
Most of the crickets will die shortly after mating by the end of the summer, but the Mormon cricket population is expected to be even bigger next year as each female cricket will leave behind up to 80 eggs this summer.
E-mail: ejohnson@desnews.com