This archive report was first published on 28 July 2019.
Published on July 28, 2019, a swarm of grasshoppers descended on Las Vegas, taking over the Strip and several popular tourist spots.
The Luxor hotel and casino, a 30-story pyramid inspired by ancient Egypt, has become a magnet for the insects, which are drawn to its powerful Sky Beam.
Jeff Lockwood, a professor of natural sciences and humanities at the University of Wyoming, said the infestation was not a cause for alarm, attributing it to the Book of Exodus.
"We can probably blame the Book of Exodus," he said. "I think that kind of planted a seed in Western culture and Western mindset of these outbreaks sort of being dark and dangerous."
Experts have reassuring news for those inclined to see parallels with the biblical plagues: these grasshoppers are not locusts.
Jeff Knight, an entomologist with the Nevada Department of Agriculture, said the unusually wet year in Las Vegas was responsible for the arrival of the grasshoppers, which migrated from southern Nevada and possibly from as far as Arizona.
"They don’t bite," he said. "They don’t sting. People don’t like them. That’s understandable."
Grasshoppers are drawn to ultraviolet light, and the Luxor Sky Beam is a powerful attractant, according to Mr. Knight.
May Berenbaum, the head of the entomology department at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, said the Luxor Sky Beam was well known for drawing insects, almost always a dense column of moths.
As the desert gets drier during the summer, the grasshoppers migrate to find food, Mr. Lockwood said.
"Their food source is getting pretty grim," he said. "By golly, the city of Las Vegas is just filled with patches of green. What might be the magnet is in fact the green plants, as much as the lights at night."
