American Notes INSECTS

They grow up to 2 in. long and 1 in. thick. Their piercing mandibles can inflict painful bites. They have an insatiable appetite for bushes, bark, gardens and crops. And now, in the worst outbreak since the 1930s, a huge army ; of these mini-monsters is hatching in a 700,000-acre swath of northern Nevada and poised for an expected May Day assault on anything chewable in its path.

Nevada officials hope to zap the marauding insects, known as Mormon crickets because of a severe infestation near Salt Lake City in the 1800s, before they march. Aerial spraying and a toxic bait will be used. But no one is confident of turning back the invasion. Concedes Robert Gronowski, a director of Nevada's anti-cricket strategy: "You can't kill them all."