Desert Locust – Fayd

Whilst birding Fayd I came across a Desert Locust Schistocerca gregaria. 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. I have not seen many Desert Locusts so far in 2022, so maybe this will be a quieter year than some of the previous ones.

Desert Locust - South Waterfall

 Whilst birding a deep woodland valley near Abha we came across a Desert Locust Schistocerca gregaria. 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. 

Desert Locust – Billasmer

Whilst birding an area of small fields near Billasimer I saw a Desert Locust Schistocerca gregariasituation. 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 been some very large swarms this year including huge numbers across virtually the entire Kingdom in the early part of 2020.

Desert Locust Swarms - Dhahran

This year has seen a huge number, amounting to hundreds of billions of locusts swarming through parts of East Africa and South Asia in the worst infestation for a quarter of a century, threatening crops and livelihoods. The insects, which eat their own body weight in food every day, are breeding so fast numbers could increase five hundred times by June. Large swarms have been noted in the Horn of Africa, through the Middle East including Saudi Arabia as well as Pakistan and India. I photographed the below locust at Judah between Dhahran and Riyadh but large swarms have been noted in the Eastern Province during the last month with several small swarms still being seen daily including where I live in Dhahran.

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.

The Desert Locust – Tabuk

Whilst birding the Tabuk area in late January we came a Desert Locust Schistocerca gregaria in a large stubble field. 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. 

Desert Locust – Tanoumah

The Desert Locust Schistocerca gregariasituation 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. I found a single adult near Tanoumah where the locust was very well camouflaged. There have been no records of swarms in Saudi Arabia this year as far as I am aware.

The Desert Locust – Abha area

The Desert Locust Schistocerca gregariasituation was calm during early 2018 due to poor rainfall and ecological conditions throughout most of the spring breeding areas in northwest Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. 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. I found a single adult near Abha, in a wide sandy bottomed wadi with large boulders along the sides where the locust was very well camouflaged.

Desert Locust – Talea’a Valley

The Desert Locust Schistocerca gregaria situation was calm during early 2017 due to poor rainfall and ecological conditions throughout most of the spring breeding areas in northwest Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Low numbers of solitarious adults were present but small-scale breeding probably occurred in interior Saudi Arabia that may cause locust numbers to increase slightly. Numbers remain low in 2017 so finding one in the Talea’a Valley, near Abha in the southwest mountains of Saudi Arabia was a bit of a surprise. The desert locust can form plagues and threaten agricultural production in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia which it has done for for centuries. The livelihood of at least one-tenth of the world’s human population can be affected by this voracious insect. The desert locust is potentially the most dangerous of the locust pests because of the ability of swarms to fly rapidly across great distances.