- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
A wet spring in 2011 set the stage for a grasshopper invasion in 2012, according to a story on KNVN News, the NBC affiliate in Northern California.
"Last year was a nice wet year, lots of feed. We had a chance for the population to build up. They lay eggs in the fall, those hatch in the spring so we got a lot more hoppers this year," said Joe Connell, UC Cooperative Extension advisor and county director in Butte County.
Grasshoppers can strip vegetable crops and vegetable gardens, Connell said. One of the best ways to protect the garden is to have a lush,...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
A swarm of locusts cast a shadow over Egypt when Pharaoh wouldn't let Moses' people go. Throughout history, locust swarms in most parts of the world have been known to strip farmland and rangeland to the nub. Now, Mariposa County is faced with a devastating population of the voracious insect, according to an article in the Merced Sun-Star.
Reporter Carol Reiter spoke to the interim director of UC Cooperative Extension in Mariposa County, Maxwell Norton, about the 2011 grasshopper population. He explained that this year's wet weather was ideal for the winged pests....
