Locusts swarm into Israel
Thousands of red locusts swarmed into southern Israel today, threatening the region’s agriculture with a biblical-like plague.
The country’s Agriculture Ministry went on high alert after the insects landed in the Red Sea port of Eilat and nearby areas of the Negev desert, said a TV report. It said authorities feared a larger invasion tomorrow.
Shmuel Ripman, a local government official in the Negev, said that a fleet of planes would spray affected areas early on Saturday morning.
“This is like an Egyptian plague,” Ripman said. ”They’ll eat all the crops in the area, the livelihood of lots of people. I hope we can get the upper hand.”
The locusts crossed into Israel from Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, after invading Cairo on Wednesday.
At least seven centimetres (2.75 inches) long, they caused Cairenes to swat and stare as they filled the skies in some neighbourhoods of the city.
Locusts, which normally live between two and six months, eat their weight - about 2 grams, or 0.07 ounces -- in crops every day. They can travel 200 kilometres (120 miles) a day.
