Plague: Las Vegas has been invaded by millions of locusts. Photo / Twitter, Getty Images
Plague: Las Vegas has been invaded by millions of locusts. Photo / Twitter, Getty Images
In what has been likened to a biblical plague on Nevada's modern-day Gomorrah, Las Vegas has been engulfed by hungry, winged locusts.
Photos have emerged of pavements crawling with the insects, with millions of the winged locusts apparently drawn to casinos and street lights.
The arrival of the large grasshoppers on the strip is concerning locals and visitors for the similarity to one of the plagues depicted in the book of Exodus.
However, far from the end of days, Sin City is just one stop on the creatures' migration north.
According to entomologists there's no need to need to panic - or indeed repent - as this "plague" is a natural phenomenon.
The large grasshoppers though unnerving, are perfectly harmless to anything other than a blade of grass.
"We can probably blame the Book of Exodus," Jeff Lockwood, a professor of natural sciences and grasshopper expert, dismissed the alarm. Talking to The New York Times Lockwood blames the biblical descriptions for planting the idea in "Western culture and Western mindset of these outbreaks sort of being dark and dangerous."
First, Grasshoppers Arent Locusts, but That Being Said Las Vegas is Being CURSED With Them & The Luxor Sky Beam Seems To Be Directed Them In!They Do Migrate Through Every Few Years But This Year There's So Many It Shows up On Weather Radar 🦗#GRASSHOPPERShttps://t.co/i2oSDFvNjJ
Jeff Knight, an entomologist with the Nevada agricultural department, told reporters that the large numbers were due to an unusually wet and warm spring.
They'll move northward, and they'll often move as far north as central Nevada," he told USA Today. "They don't carry any diseases, they don't bite, they're not even one of the species that we consider a problem."
Some are blaming the large quantities of UV and white light emitted by the bright lights Las Vegas Strip for drawing the insects. The grasshoppers which are attracted to ultraviolet light have been photographed swarming bulbs.
With no irony lost - the lights of the faux-Egyptian Luxor Resort and Casino have been drawing a considerable amount of the insects, looking like a Hollywood recreation of the book of Exodus.
Luxor Casino: Las Vegas' Egyptian pyramid has been swarmed by locusts, reminiscent of Exodus. Photo / Twitter
The volume and density of the swarm is so great that it has been registering on weather radar, according to CNN.
🤓 Some of you have been asking about the widespread radar returns the past few nights in #Vegas. Radar analysis suggests most of these echoes are biological targets. This typically includes birds, bats, and bugs, and most likely in our case--> Grasshoppers. 🦗 #VegasWeatherpic.twitter.com/reQX7hJR7Y
The US National Weather Service has been responding to questions around readings over Las Vegas.
Radar analysis suggests most of these echoes are biological targets," the meteorological centre tweeted. "This typically includes birds, bats, and bugs, and most likely in our case--> Grasshoppers."
In Exodus the plague of locusts was followed by a plague of "darkness", which shouldn't be too much of a problem for a city famous for its neon lights. Experts say the locusts could linger for weeks.
Some Las Vegas businesses are making the most of the abundance of grashoppers.
Pizzaria Evel Pie has taken the hordes as inspiration for a pizza topping.
The restaurant explained they called their creation the "Canyon Hopper", containing "garlic roasted grasshoppers".
