Western drought brings another woe: voracious grasshoppers
Federal agriculture officials are launching what could become their largest grasshopper-killing campaign since the 1980s amid an outbreak of the drought-loving insects that cattle ranchers fear will strip bare public and private rangelands.
In central
“They're everywhere," Wiederrick said. “Drought and grasshoppers go together and they are cleaning us out."
Grasshoppers thrive in warm, dry weather, and populations already were up last year, setting the stage for an even bigger outbreak in 2021. Such outbreaks could become more common as climate change shifts rainfall patterns, scientists said.
To blunt the grasshoppers' economic damage, the
Agriculture officials had seen this year’s infestation coming, after a 2020 survey found dense concentrations of adult grasshoppers across about 55,000 square miles (141 ,000 square kilometers) in the West. A 2021 grasshopper “hazard map” shows densities of at least 15 insects per square yard (meter) in large areas of
Left unaddressed, federal officials said the agricultural damage from grasshoppers could become so severe it could drive up beef and crop prices.
The program's scale has alarmed environmentalists who say widespread spraying will kill numerous insects, including spiders and other grasshopper predators as well as struggling species such as monarch butterflies. They're also concerned the pesticides could ruin organic farms adjacent to spray zones.
“We’re talking about natural areas being sprayed, this is not cropland,” said
Government officials say they will spray pesticides in low concentrations and reduce the area treated by alternately spraying a strip of rangeland, then skipping the next strip. The intent is to kill grasshoppers passing between strips while sparing other insects that don't move as far.
If spraying is delayed and grasshoppers grow larger and more resilient, federal officials could resort to two more toxic pesticides — carbaryl and malathion, according to government documents.
Selvaggio said pesticides could drift into areas not being targeted and kill beneficial insects such as bees that pollinate crops. “The toxicity is more than enough to kill bees," she said. “This is not adequate protection."
Organic farmers are divided on spraying. Some are concerned about losing their organic certification for years if they inadvertently get pesticides on their crops, while others are willing to tolerate spraying out of deference to their neighbors' problems, said
The trade group isn't going to challenge the spraying but wants organic farmers protected and for the government to research alternatives to chemicals for future outbreaks.
As this year's crop of grasshoppers emerges, they're starting to compete with cattle for food in arid eastern
The grasshoppers start eating tender plants first, then move on to fully-grown plants and the seed heads of grain crops, killing them, said
“They are competing against our food supplies,” said Manoukian.
A typical infestation can remove 20% of forage from the range and have a
At his ranch, not far from the
The federal government’s grasshopper program dates to the 1930s, when infestations covered millions of acres (hectares) in 17 western states. After locally-led efforts failed,
The last outbreak on a scale comparable to this year lasted from 1986 to 1988. Almost 20 million acres (8 million hectares) were treated with 1.3 million gallons (5 million liters) of malathion, according to researchers.
The grasshoppers targeted include roughly a dozen of the hundreds of native species in the West. Drought benefits them in part because it lessens exposure of grasshopper eggs to deadly parasites that need moisture, said
This year’s outbreak will peak in roughly two months, when the insects reach 2 to 3 inches (5 to 7.6 centimeters) in length and become so prevalent they’ll start to eat more plant matter than cattle can, Prather said.
The grasshoppers start to die down when there’s nothing left to eat, Prather said, “but at that point they’ve probably already ... laid their eggs for next year.”
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