Jem's Birding & Ringing Exploits in the Eastern Province and elsewhere in Saudi Arabia
16 June 2019
Desert Locust – Billasimer
Whilst
birding a deep woodland valley near Billasimer I flushed a Desert Locust Schistocerca gregariasituation off the
main track and onto a dry stone wall, where it was well camouflaged. The Desert
Locust can form plagues and threaten agricultural production in Africa, the
Middle East, and Asia, something it has done for centuries. The desert locust
is potentially the most dangerous of the locust pests because of the ability of
it to form swarms and to fly rapidly across great distances. There has not,
however, been any large swarms I know of in recent years.