No, this isn't a plot for the pilot of a new Sci-Fi Channel original series, it's a real life epidemic that has forced the University of Texas to temporarily dim the lights of its most revered building on campus, The UT Tower.

The University has sent out this e-mail:

"As some of you may have noticed, there is a cricket infestation on campus particularly affecting the area of the Main Building and UT Tower. In an effort to control this cricket infestation, the university will not light the tower each night in the traditional manner. Brightly lit buildings are most likely to attract the largest numbers of crickets at night, so we hope to attract fewer crickets and control the cricket population by darkening the tower. Two lighting interruptions are scheduled to take place in the early evening on Friday, July 27 through Sunday, July 29, and Friday, August 3 through Sunday, August 5. Please note that this is only a temporary measure to keep the cricket population under control and cleanup at a minimum."

A quick call to Austin-based bug-zappers ABC Pest & Lawn let us know that the recent cricket invasion is due to the massive amount of rain we have received this summer. The more rain, the more fresh vegetation; the more fresh vegetation, the more these crickets thrive; the more these crickets thrive, the more they get. it. on. And the more of them we have to deal with.

Crickets, like most insects, use the sun as a navigational tool. So when the sun is gone, most seek out the best substitute, in the form of bright lights created by fluorescents and nearby buildings. And the brightest light for bugs in the campus area is, of course, the UT Tower.

With almost one million different known species of insects, about three-fourths of animals on the planet and a vast network under our feet, today it's dimming the tower; tomorrow, it may be this...

Photo Courtesy of Davis Ayer.