Alberta could face grasshopper 'blowout' this summer if drought continues

Alberta has battled hail, fire and floods in the past few years and now could faceanother plague that seems drawn straight out of the Bible:an explosion of grasshoppers.

Grasshoppers, the bouncy cousins of swarming locusts, are thriving thanks to a dry winter and an early, warm spring.

"I can even see grasshoppers jumping around my yard and I live in the city," said Edmonton-based agricultural consultant and retired provincial entomologist, Mike Dolinski.

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He said thecold-blooded insects metabolize and grow faster in the heat so, if the hot and dry weather persists, farmers could be fighting off some hungry insects this summer.

"If they're starving under drought conditions, they will move en masse across roads or hayfield towards crop."

Dolinkski told the Calgary Eyeopeneron Monday thathe hasn'tseen a province-wide "blowout in hoppers" inabout 25 yearsthanks to advances in agriculture which keep the soil damp and cool something theydislike.

But he said that maynot be enough to stop the hoppersthis summerbecause Alberta hasn't experienced a lot of precipitation in the last two years.

"Alberta is by far under greatest risk of a grasshopper problem going forward, compared to,say, Manitoba and Saskatchewan."

He said canola crops are particularlyvulnerable to the insects.

Calgary Eyeopener6:44Is a grasshopper invasion imminent?

A mild winter and prolonged dry weather could mean that a grasshopper infestation is coming to Alberta. Entomologist Mike Dolinski explains why farmers should be concerned.