Expert steps on reports of new grasshopper wave in Southern Nevada

Many residents in Southern Nevada are reporting a resurgence of grasshoppers, but the Nevada Department of Agriculture says there’s no evidence of a second wave of this year’s invasion.

The Pahrump Valley Times reported Wednesday that residents there have seen pallid-winged grasshoppers in greater numbers this week, coming on the tail end of July’s mass migration that dropped a plague’s worth of bugs on the Las Vegas Valley and surrounding communities.

Some Las Vegas residents also have reported seeing an increase after the ebb following the earlier surge.

But Jeff Knight, the state entomologist with the Nevada Department of Agriculture, said in a statement that that residents are seeing the final act of the insect invasion.

“There are a few lingering grasshoppers in the Las Vegas area that may be around for the next few weeks,” he said. “We should not see increased numbers, as they are nearing the end of their life cycle.”

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Knight has said that such mass migrations happen every few years, and the common desert species sees a boom in numbers after unusually wet winters and springs.

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“The number of grasshoppers in the valley could be the end of the migration, but populations like this are to be expected this time of year,” Knight said. “We are not receiving reports of populations like the migration in July. This grasshopper has a single generation per year. That means there are no new grasshoppers being produced this year.”

Contact Max Michor at mmichor@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0365. Follow @MaxMichor on Twitter.