Ground and aerial control operations are currently underway in Saudi Arabia where a Desert Locust outbreak developed last month on the Red Sea coast as a result of unusually good rains last summer. So far, two generations of breeding have occurred on the coastal plains south of Jeddah between Lith and Jizan, and late instar hopper groups and bands have formed. Groups of immature adults and perhaps a few small swarms are expected to form in the coming weeks. This is likely to be supplemented by third-generation hatching and band formation.

The situation is compounded by a lack of field operations in adjacent coastal areas of Yemen due to prevailing insecurity.

The infestations will remain confined to the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia as long as ecological conditions stay favourable, but there is also a risk that adult groups and small swarms, if they form, could move north along the coast as well as into the spring breeding areas of the interior as temperatures warm up.

All efforts should be undertaken to monitor the situation intensively by increasing survey teams and to conduct safe and effective control operations for preventing further breeding and migration to spring breeding areas.

Elsewhere, limited control operations were carried out recently against infestations along the Red Sea coastal plains on both sides of the Sudan-Eritrea border, in northwest Mauritania and southern Morocco.

For more information please download the Desert Locust Bulletin No 460 from the linl below:

http://desertlocust-crc.org/Download.ashx?File=App_Uploads/Bulletins/Files/170207012505DL460e.pdf