A-Train Encounters Pallid Legged Grasshopper

They swarmed Las Vegas for weeks and caused mayhem and above all else, serious drama for the residents of the Mojave Desert. Here's my account of a face to face encounter with the now infamous pallid legged grasshopper.

I will always think fondly of this little arthropod because I had just cashed out of a red hot session at Joker's Wild Casino on Boulder Highway.

He was right there in the parking lot.

I was surprised at how it looked like it could camouflage on the desert floor instead of the glowing green images that I saw from viral videos of the swarms that had been plaguing Sin City.

Not one second after this photo was taken, this little guy took off.

It flew just like a bird, completely different than the 10 or 15 yard jaunts that we are accustomed to seeing from the New England breeds. It twisted up and out of sight in excess of sixty yards!

Since it was about 109 degrees fahrenheit, I decided not to pursue him further.

Just as the local entomologists had predicted, the unprecedented swarms were migrating quickly to the north and sure enough, by the time I got to Vegas, little stragglers like this guy, were all that remained.