New Book Casts Doubt on
Saint Urho's Effectiveness

The Legend of Saint Urho says he drove the grasshoppers out of Finland, thus saving the grape crop and the livelihood of Finnish vineyard workers. But a new book suggests that Urho's mighty yell of "Heinäsirkka, heinäsirkka, mene täältä hiiteen" ("Grasshopper, grasshopper, go to Hell!") was not so effective after all, and that the grasshopper population continues to thrive in Finland.

Dr. Sami Karjalainen has written a book covering all of Finland's 32 known species of orthoptera, titled simply Suomen heinäsirkat ja hepokatit (The Grasshoppers and Crickets of Finland). The book contains hundreds of full color photos of grasshoppers, crickets, locusts, cicadas, etc., native to Finland, as well as maps showing where each species has been found. Also included is a CD with calling songs, mating songs, and rivalry songs, over 60 audio cuts in all. The text is in Finnish with only a one page English Summary, so a reading knowledge of Finnish is required to appreciate the full scope of Dr. Karjalainen's research.

A photo of the Saint Urho statue in Menahga, Minnesota, located by the author on the SaintUrho.com web site, is included on page 182 (with permission and proper attribution, of course), along with a paragraph about the legend of Saint Urho. Oddly enough Suomen heinäsirkat ja hepokatit was released on March 17, 2009, the day after Saint Urho's Day.  

Description of Suomen heinäsirkat ja hepokatit in English