New sky-darkening swarms of locusts have been sighted in various parts of the Negev and more may be coming up into Israel from Jordan territory south and east of Elath, it was revealed today even as hundreds of settlers aided by government experts, three insecticide spraying planes and scores of motor vehicles battled one of the greatest pest invasions in years.
Most of the threatened crops in southern Israel seem safe for the moment, but if new millions of red locusts arrive they may yet deal the Israeli economy a severe blow. The results of last week’s battle have left many settlements in the Western Negev covered by a layer of dead red locusts. Villages in the North and Central Negev report new invasions today.
The arrival of the insects had been forecast earlier in the year by an international anti-locust center in London which had studied the pest in the Middle East. But the extent of their invasion far outdid anything forecast by the experts.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
