Grasshopper infestation ravages drought-stricken West

The western United States, already stricken by a severe drought, now has plague of grasshoppers to contend with. 

The population normally remains in check, but the prolonged drought has created ideal conditions for the insects to thrive. Most grasshoppers normally die off before reaching adulthood due to pathogens, severe winters and starvation. Dry winters, however, have helped the bugs survive and multiply, according to the Guardian.  "They’re everywhere," Frank Wierderrick, a Montana native, told the Los Angeles Times. "Drought and grasshoppers go together, and they are cleaning us out."