The state of Oregon in the United States is in the midst of an outbreak of insect attacks as written in the Bible. How’s the story?
Jordan Maley and April Aamodt are driving through a canyon in northern Oregon. Suddenly their vehicle stopped. They then took a type of insect that was sitting on the street.
“This is the one over here,” said Aamodt, as quoted by the AP, Tuesday (28/6/2022).
Aamodt showed a cricket-like insect in his hand. The insect is known as Mormon Crickets alias Mormon crickets. The size is quite large and easy to see. They can grow to a length of more than 5 centimeters.
Mormon crickets not a new species in Oregon. These insects have destroyed farmland owned by the Mormons in the state in the 1800s ago.
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Insect Outbreak in the US Photo: (AP)– |
Maley and Aamodt are also familiar with Mormon crickets. They were assigned to monitor and conduct surveys regarding the presence of these insects in the area.
They call it the worst plague Mormon crickets happened in 2017. The epidemic that year was even more severe than a similar outbreak that occurred in the 1940s.
The streets were filled with crickets whose bodies had been crushed by cars. Farmland was destroyed after being invaded by this large swarm of crickets. The plague caused by the insect is even said to be similar to what is written in the Bible. In the Bible, locusts are one of the plagues that are said to have destroyed Egypt at the time of the Prophet Moses.
“In the streets, when you run over and kill them, they will come again and again,” said Skye Krebs, one of the Mormon farmers.
In 2021, the Oregon Agricultural Office estimated that 4 million hectares of farmland in 18 areas had been affected by the outbreak Mormon crickets. They have provided funds of up to US$ 1.2 million (Rp 17.8 billion) to overcome the epidemic.
Mormon crickets is a cannibalistic insect. They will prey on each other, be it alive or dead, if they do not get enough protein intake. They can move half a kilometer in a day.
“We have very valuable agricultural produce and also an irrigation system. We’re doing what we can to keep the bugs from getting there,” Maley said.
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