Mormon cricket (Anabrus simplex) is an insect pest of alfalfa, grasses and shrubs. It was first detected in Colorado in 1984.
The Mormon cricket is a large shieldbacked katydid that can grow to almost three inches in length. They live throughout western North America in rangelands dominated by sagebrush and forbs. The Mormon cricket is flightless, but capable of traveling up to two kilometers a day in its swarming phase, during which it is a serious agricultural pest. .
For more information about this plant pest, see the CABI data sheet.