The locusts have landed

Small swarms of desert locusts landed yesterday afternoon along the coast in the center of the country. The swarms, numbering a few dozen locusts in each, were found in the area of Palmahim, Holon and Tel Aviv.

Agriculture Ministry experts believe the locusts, which can fly for stretches of 200 kilometers without having to land, came from North Africa, via Cyprus. Large swarms of locusts have landed on the island in recent days, with smaller swarms found in Lebanon and Crete.

The director of the Agriculture Ministry's Flora Protection Service, Dr. Zvi Klein, said yesterday that officials from his unit would visiting the Palmahim area this morning to assess the need to begin extermination operations.

Klein said he did not believe the discovery of the small swarms heralded the pending arrival of larger groups of the insects. He said, however, that his unit had been put on alert in the event that large swarms land along the coast.

Klein called on the public to report to the Agriculture Ministry any suspected sighting of the desert locust, large swarms of which could number up to 3,000 insects per square meter of land.