Winter rain spurred a Phoenix grasshopper invasion

We weren't the only ones who enjoyed the winter rain! Grasshoppers are invading the Valley because of our precipitation-induced overgrown vegetation.

• Social media has been hopping with accounts of the bouncing, funny-looking bugs.

What's happening: "A number of plant-feeding insects are emerging in large numbers over the past few weeks, and this could be attributed to the wet winter, and abundant growth of weeds and other vegetation that sustained them and enabled them to survive the winter," UofA entomologist Shaku Nair tells us.

Yes, but: The bugs are likely on their way out. Once the weather warms and plants dry up, grasshoppers head to cooler areas, Nair says.