In2-MeC

Prague, Czech Republic
22 November 2004

Israel Hit by Worst Locust Plague Since 1950s

By Megan Goldin

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Millions of locusts swarmed through Israel's Red Sea resort town of Eilat on Sunday, devouring crops and flowers in the country's south.

Israeli agriculture officials sent crop dusters into the air to spray against the locusts that swept in from North Africa in the first such invasion since 1959. Eilat residents reported clouds of locusts eating palm trees bare and wiping out entire gardens.

"You watch as trees that are covered with flowers are devoured. They ate everything, even a grassy roundabout which is covered with locusts," said Meir, an Eilat resident.

Curious residents swatted locusts as long as 10 cm (3. 9 inches) which filled the air as they walked outside to inspect the damage. "It's like the plagues of Egypt," said one resident.

In the Bible, locusts were the eighth of 10 plagues that God inflicted on the ancient Egyptians before Pharaoh, their leader, let the Israelites go.

Locusts ventured across the Negev desert as far north as the Dead Sea where farmers worried that larger numbers of insects said to be heading their way might eat through their crops.

"They have landed to sleep for the night . . . tomorrow we are expecting greater numbers," explained farmer Shalom Shoshana who feared for his tomato and pepper crops. "It's frightening. "

But agriculture officials said they were not overly concerned as a cold front forecast on Monday would prevent the locusts from breeding and would keep them grounded where they would be easy prey for crop dusters.

"The question is whether the locusts know that," piped up Shoshana.

The locusts were heading east toward Jordan and Saudi Arabia and were not expected to move to Israel's more fertile north as well as the West Bank and Gaza Strip (news - web sites) where Palestinian farmers are less equipped to deal with the scourge.

The last major invasion of African locusts 45 years ago ravaged crops in the Jewish state.

But some Israelis as well as labourers from Thailand, where locusts are a delicacy, made the best of the current outbreak by collecting the insects and taking them home for dinner.

"Delicious," said one Israeli man in Eilat, licking his lips after picking a locust off the ground and eating it raw. "They're a delicacy fit for a king. "

A Web Site in Eilat listed recipes for locusts including locust shish-kebab, locust chips (French fries) and stir-fried locusts. The recipes said it was essential to cook the insects while alive "as otherwise they become bitter. "

The locust is the only type of insect that is kosher and permissible for religious Jews to eat under Jewish law. �

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