Laying in Ethiopia and swarms in the Near East

The upsurge is continuing to decline in the Horn of Africa due to ongoing control operations that treated substantially less in April than the previous month as swarms dwindled. Nevertheless, recent good rainfall has allowed the remaining swarms to mature in Ethiopia where they started to lay eggs in late April that are expected to hatch in early May, giving rise to hopper bands. Similar breeding is likely to take place in northern Somalia while localized breeding could occur in parts of northern Kenya by any remnant infestations. Therefore, intense vigilance should be maintained in the region.

In the Near East, unusually strong southerly winds for several days in April carried groups of mature adults and small swarms north from Saudi Arabia to Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria that nearly reached Turkey while others appeared in the Sinai Peninsula. Limited hatching and band formation may occur in a few places during May.

In Saudi Arabia, control operations are in progress in the interior against widespread hatching and hopper band formation. Fledging started in late April and a few groups of immature adults began to form. This is expected to increase during May when small swarms may form that could move south to Yemen, east through the Persian Gulf and, during southerly winds, north to Jordan and Iraq. These countries should be alert.

In southwest Asia, hatching and a few bands formed in southwest Iran where immature adults are likely to form in May and move east towards Pakistan.

The situation remained calm in other regions and no significant developments are expected.

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