Female Mormon cricket Why do Mormon crickets move en masse? Partly because banding together shields them from predatory birds and mammals, but another reason is to eat each other. Researchers with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service have concluded that the crickets’ mass movement is propelled by the nutrient-starved insects nipping at each others’ heels out of hunger and out of fear of being eaten. In the western United States, Mormon crickets can form bands up to six miles long, pilfering crops and garden plants as they move across the landscape. Former ARS ecologist Dr. Gregory Sword, who […]