Despite its name, the Mormon cricket (Anabrus simplex) is not a true cricket but a shield-backed katydid. It earned its common name from the 1848 plague that threatened Mormon settlers' crops in Utah — famously ended by flocks of California gulls. Mormon crickets are large, flightless insects with a distinctive shield-like plate covering their thorax. They are found in the higher-elevation areas of northern and eastern Arizona, particularly in sagebrush and grassland habitats. Under outbreak conditions, they form massive migratory bands of millions of individuals that march across the landscape consuming virtually all vegetation in their path. These bands can travel up to a mile per day and cause devastating crop and range losses. In Arizona, outbreaks occur periodically and can affect rural communities and agricultural areas.