The United States has a rich history of dealing with various invasive insects. Today, invasive insects are more abundant in America than they ever have been before. Once a nonnative insect species establishes an invasive presence within a region, fully eradicating them is nearly impossible. Several invasive insect species that are causing problems in America today have been causing problems for decades. One of the most well known cases involves Formosan subterranean termites. Since the 1960s, researchers have been trying in vain to eradicate the highly destructive termites, but their populations in America today are higher than they ever have been before. The brown marmorated stink bug serves as another example of an invasive insect pest that has been wreaking havoc in America for several years. Some of you can name numerous invasive insects, and some cannot name any, but no matter who you are, it is unlikely that you have ever heard about the camel cricket invasion along the eastern seaboard. Since 2014, researchers in the fields of entomology, biology and ecology have been struggling to control invasive camel cricket populations in the east. If you are afraid of both spiders and insects, then you do not want to search Google for images of this creature, as it looks like a genetic cross between a spider and a cricket.
Scientific surveys of cricket sightings within the US has brought an invasive cricket species to the attention of American scientists. The Asian camel cricket is rather unsettling, as they have long legs and can reach four inches in length. These crickets have done more than merely establish themselves, they have seemingly taken over the entire length of the eastern seaboard. These crickets have been found everywhere from northern New York right down to Florida. One single yard containing a few homemade insect traps made from solo cups in North Carolina has turned up a whopping fifty two Asian cricket specimens in a mere two days. Despite this problematic crickets increasing populations within the US, they are not often reported on in the media.
Have you spotted any camel crickets in the US?