By KEN MILLER
Associated Press
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - An
Oklahoma State University entomologist says weather conditions across
Oklahoma have provided the perfect recipe for an explosion in the
cricket population.
Rick Grantham says the mild winter, wet spring, and hot, dry summer allowed the insects to survive, breed and thrive.
Large numbers of crickets
are being found across the state, even inside office buildings. But
Grantham said they're a nuisance - not a health threat.
According to Grantham, some people "toast them and eat them."
Grantham says another
factor in the proliferation of the insect is that its main predator -
the horsehair worm - doesn't thrive in the hot, dry weather. He says
cooler, wetter weather should bring out more of the crickets' predators.
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2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not
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