Agriculture Min. confirms presence of locusts in central Israel
By Amiram Cohen, Haaretz Correspondent
The Agriculture Ministry confirmed on Wednesday that they had spotted "desert locusts" in the Palmahim, Tel Aviv and Holon areas. The officials believe that there are only tens or hundreds of locusts in the area, but teams of experts will be sent to the areas to examine the situation more thoroughly.
The Agriculture Ministry announced on Tuesday precautions for a locust invasion. Swarms of the suspected desert locust landed recently in Lebanon and western Cyprus, where crop damage has been reported.
Agriculture Minister Yisrael Katz said emergency measures include placing the ministry's "locust squads" on alert to spot swarms and destroy them upon landing, checking the availability of pesticides for spraying locusts, coordinating with crop-duster companies, and maintaining daily contact with the Rome-based United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.
The desert locusts, mentioned in the Bible, originate in central Africa. In the past few weeks there have been reports of swarms of locusts in Senegal and Mauritania, and the insects spread north to Morocco and Algeria.
The movement of the locusts is primarily dictated by the direction and force of winds in the region. According to ministry experts, the large number of insects in Lebanon and Cyprus came from north Africa, aided by southwestern winds.
The last major invasion by locusts into Israel was in 1959, when swarms who came from Africa crossed the Red Sea and spread up the Saudi coast toward Jordan and Israel.