Mormon cricket

Definition

A large, flightless, shield-backed katydid (Anabrus simplex) native to western North American rangelands, particularly sagebrush steppe. Despite its common name, it is not a true cricket (family Gryllidae) but belongs to family Tettigoniidae. Adults are dark, wingless or short-winged, and capable of long-distance migratory marching in dense bands that can devastate crops and forage.

Etymology

From Mormon + cricket, late 19th century; named for association with Mormon settlers in Utah and the "miracle of the gulls" event (1848), when gulls reportedly intervened during an outbreak.

Example

During outbreak years, marching Mormon cricket bands may travel more than two kilometers per day, consuming all herbaceous vegetation in their path and creating significant agricultural and rangeland management challenges.

Synonyms

• Anabrus simplex
• shield-backed katydid

Related Terms

• katydid
• Tettigoniidae
• Gryllidae
• true cricket
• migratory band
• sagebrush steppe
• miracle of the gulls

Usage Notes

The common name is a persistent misnomer; specialists emphasize that this species is a katydid, not a cricket. The term is often used in agricultural and range management contexts to denote the pest phase of this species. Outbreak populations exhibit density-dependent phase polyphenism, with band-forming morphs differing behaviorally and morphologically from solitary individuals.