The Chihuahuan Desert hosts a variety of flora and fauna. Orthopterans, grasshoppers, crickets and katydids, are an integral part of the desert ecosystem, and can be vectors for diseases. Brachystola magna Girard (Orthoptera: Romaleidae), commonly known as Plains Lubber Grasshoppers are large, polyphagous, omnivores that emerge after a two-year diapause. Besides being a food source for many species, they can also be vectors for parasites such as Wolbachia pipientis and Oxyspirura petrowi. Wolbachia pipientis is commonly known as the “male-killing bacteria” and is changing the sex ratio of insect populations. Oxyspirura petrowi, a nematode, causes “eyeworm” disease in Northern Bobwhite Quails, and is decimating the quail population in New Mexico. Sixty-nine Brachystola magna, 14 males and 55 females, were captured between July and November of 2021 in the northern section of the Chihuahua Desert at the base of the Florida Mountains. Thirty-seven specimens were tested for Wolbachia pipientis Hertig (Rickettsiates: Ehrlichiaceae) and 55 specimens were tested for Oxyspirura petrowi Skrjabin (Spirurida: Thelaziidae).

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