Have you or a loved one accumulated enough bug bites on one leg alone over the past two weeks to play a game of Connect the Dots for an entire class period? Are you sick and tired of walking to your car at night only to discover that it’s swarmed with ugly, noisy, green creatures? If you answered “Yes” to any of the previous questions, then there is a good chance that you have been at Harding.
As a freshman I did not anticipate needing five cans of DEET insect repellent for each day of the week, and as a consequence, I suffered a multitude of bug bites during my first month or so of classes. However, this semester I arrived on campus with an arsenal of bug spray, but nothing could prepare me for the next several weeks. I don’t remember where I was when they arrived, but none of that matters now that they are here. I used to love walking to my car at night, but that all changed when the long-horned grasshopper nation attacked. These long-horned grasshoppers, sometimes referred to as katydids, have raised quite a few questions among my fellow students such as, “Where did they come from?,” “Why are they here?” and “When will they go away?”
Where did they come from? Well, the University of Arkansas (U of A) Division of Agricultural Research and Extension may have an answer. Do you remember those pretty green rice fields that you saw while traveling home for summer break? According to the U of A, these rice fields were very likely the birthplace of these very same katydids. So, what do these grasshoppers like so much about rice? Studies have shown that the larvae and nymphs of the grasshoppers feed on the pollen produced by the rice flowers, and their main food source is actually a pest of rice fields commonly known as the rice water weevil. Without proper control by the farmers or the katydids, the rice water weevils and their offspring can be detrimental to young rice plants and cause a significantly lower crop yield.
After an extensive three-hour period of researching (Googling) these insects, I have come to the conclusion that these creatures mean us no harm, at least not physically or economically (but possibly emotionally), but they protect our rice crops from diabolical little weevils. Why are they here? Well, the reason we see them in huge swarms is because it’s mating season. What better place in Arkansas than Harding to find that special one for you? When will they go away? The good news is that after they procreate, these mature grasshoppers die. So, as much as I dislike them, they are only doing what the Lord commanded all of his creatures to do: go forth and multiply. As for those other annoying, biting insects that leave me with a bunch of puffy red dots year after year, I still have a lofty amount of disdain for them, and I will not be giving you a good reason as to why they should be excused for their constant massacre of my skin.
