(The Center Square) — Residents in the Everett, Washington, area have been advised to look out for unusually large grasshoppers, which have been spotted in the area.
The Egyptian grasshopper, native to Europe, Africa and the Middle East, was found by an Everett resident earlier this year, the first-ever sighting in the state. The insect is added to a growing list of nonnative species seen in or near the Evergreen State this year.
As grasshoppers are emerging in late summer, the Washington Department of Agriculture has asked the public’s help in tracking the Egyptian grasshopper, which is identifiable by the black vertical stripes on its eyes. Adults are olive, gray or brown. Males can be over two inches in length, females nearly three inches. The insects feed on leaves and may blend in with vegetation.
“An overwintering grasshopper could easily hitchhike, so this is another case where we are asking the public to help us figure out if this is just a single specimen,” Sven Spichiger, WSDA managing entomologist, said in an Aug. 25 blog post.
There is currently no evidence of an established population, but the USDA is gathering information to assess the potential threat to Washington crops.
This alert comes on the heels of a sighting of the giant Atlas moth in Bellevue last month. This creature hails from southeast Asia and can have a wingspan up to 10-inches. It is not harmful to humans.
Also last month the emerald ash borer, an invasive insect that has decimated ash tree populations in 35 states, was seen in Forest Grove, Oregon, just 20 miles from Vancouver. This pest, metallic green in color and about 1.5 inches in length, destroys Ash trees while in larval form by tunneling under the tree’s bark.
WSDA asks residents to be on the lookout for both these pests.
Also a threat is the nonnative European green crab, which multiplied over 5,000% in Puget Sound last year, prompting Gov. Jay Inslee in January to order that emergency measures be taken to eradicate it. The green crab feeds on clams, mussels and oysters, and destroys vital habitats such as eelgrass beds and estuarine marshes.
Washington residents who have seen an Egyptian grasshopper or Atlas moth, or emerald ash borer and asked to send a photo to [email protected] and include the location where the pest was seen.
