Locust Swarm Hits Israel As A Million Insects Cross Border From Egyp

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Locust swarm hits Israel as a million insects cross border from Egypt

By Alex Ward and Steve Nolan

PUBLISHED: 04:05 EST, 6 March 2013 | UPDATED: 09:03 EST, 6 March 2013

A swarm of locusts has crossed the border from Egypt into neighbouring Israel, raising fears that the country could be plagued by the insects over the forthcoming Passover holiday.

A swarm of an estimated 30 million insects had been devastating crops in Egypt putting authorities in Israel on high alert.

But a smaller swarm of some one million locusts has now hit Israel.

Enlarge   Swarm: Locusts cluster on the ground in the Israeli village of Kmehin in the Negev Desert near the Egyptian border

Infestation: Locusts hang on a tree as a swarm arrives in Israel near the Egyptian border

Specimen tests: An Israeli man looks at his binoculars after he collected locusts as a swarm arrives in Israel near the Egyptian border in Kmehin, Israel

Damaging: A swarms of locusts fly near Kadesh Barnea, in Jerusalem, Israel, yesterday after crossing the border from neighbouring Egypt

The country’s Agriculture Ministry sent out planes to spray pesticides over agricultural fields on Monday to prevent damage by the locusts and set up an emergency hotline and asked Israelis to report sightings.

The insects covered nearly 2,000 acres of desert overnight, officials said.

Israel sprayed pesticides from the air and land to try to kill them in the early morning before dew on their wings dried and they could take off again.

Miriam Freund, director of plant protection in the Agriculture Ministry, called it a ‘medium-sized swarm’ and her office set up a hotline for farmers to call in case they see it advance.

‘We hope our actions are effective,’ one of the pilots of a plane spraying the fields said on Army Radio. ‘Let’s hope the damage will be minimal.’

Emergency measures: The agriculture Ministry has described the swarm as ‘medium-sized’ and is currently taking steps to protect crops

Beseiged: An Israeli motorcyclist negotiates the road despite a plague of locusts surrounding him

Panic: An Israeli man runs through the plague in Kmehin, Israel, earlier today

Assessment: Two Israelis stand keep watch of the activity of the swarm close to the border with Egypt

 

Plague of locusts. Swarm crosses border from Egypt to Israel

Reports suggest that the insects are mainly concentrated in areas of southern Israel, but sightings have been reported elsewhere.

The locust alert comes ahead of the week long Passover festival, which recounts the biblical story of the Israelite exodus from Egypt.

According to the Bible, a huge swarm of locusts was the eighth of 10 plagues God imposed on Egyptians to persuade Pharaoh to free the ancient Hebrews from slavery. Pharaoh did not agree to let them go until after the 10th plague, the death of the first born in every Egyptian family.

This year Passover begins on March 25.

Pesticide spray: A light plane sprays deterrent on the ground in Israel near the Egyptian border in a bid to clear the swarm before Passover

Climbing trees: The locust swarm is damaging wildlife and authorities fear it could harm the Passover holiday in three weeks

Crackdown: A man holds locusts as the swarm is tested on the Israeli border with Egypt

Alert: Around 2,000 locusts have been spotted in Israel sparking fears that the country could be plagued by the insects come Passover week later this month

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Locusts Swarm Israel From Egypt Ahead Of Passover

Reuters  |  Posted: 03/06/2013 4:57 am EST  |  Updated: 03/06/2013 8:51 am EST

KEMEHIN, Israel, March 6 (Reuters) – Israel on Wednesday began battling a swarm of locusts from Egypt on Wednesday to prevent crop damage in the south of the country.

Locust clouds darkened skies some three weeks before the Jewish Passover holiday that recalls 10 Biblical plagues, one of them locusts, that struck Egypt during the exodus of Israelite slaves.

The insects covered nearly 2,000 acres (800 hectares) of desert overnight, officials said. Israel sprayed pesticides from the air and land to try to kill them in the early morning before dew on their wings dried and they could take off again.

Miriam Freund, director of plant protection in the Agriculture Ministry, called it a “medium-sized swarm” and her office set up a hotline for farmers to call in case they see it advance.

“We hope our actions are effective,” one of the pilots of a plane spraying the fields said on Army Radio. “Let’s hope the damage will be minimal.”

Locusts, which wreak havoc by eating crops, last invaded southern Israel in 2004, said the pilot, who gave only his first name, Shai.

Potato farmer Pavel Rosenfeld, who lives about 3 km (2 miles) from the Egyptian border, said 30 to 40 percent of his land had already been damaged.

“Everything depends on the wind … and we are praying that the wind doesn’t bring us more,” he said on Army Radio. (Reporting by Ran Tzabar and Ari Rabinovitch, Editing by Jeffrey Heller and Alistair Lyon)

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