18 October 2016

Migratory Locust - Haradh

Whilst at Haradh I saw plenty of Migratory Locust Locusta migratoria in the pivot irrigation fields. Normally they occur in small numbers throughout Arabia, but rarely form into swarms. There are two colour forms, brown and green with the green colour forms mainly solitary adult females. Under favourable breeding conditions they can form into vast groups, with young ‘hoppers’ often all marching in the same direction. They are very strong fliers and migratory specimens have been recorded as far away as Great Britain. Most of the locusts were in the fields but the one I photographed was on the sand at the edge of a pivot field.
Migratory Locust