Right around the time we were hearing more about Covid-19, but it wasn’t yet in KSA, a massive swarm of locusts passed by Al Khobar from Dammam and out to the sea over to Bahrain. I found one dead on the pavement near the Corniche. If I find that photo I took I will post it here. They are big grasshopper type insects. Some people even eat them for food. If humans could catch them en mass, and roast them up they are a good source of protein.
“Desert locusts – whose destructive infestations cause major crop damage – are a species of grasshopper that live largely solitary lives until a combination of conditions promotes breeding and leads them to form massive swarms.
The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization had said in its locust forecast until mid-June, that locust infestations will increase and extend further to areas in the Horn of Africa and southwest Asia.
“Breeding in the Arabian Peninsula caused hopper bands (masses of the “hopper” type of locusts) to form in parts of Saudi Arabia, Iraq and UAE, and hopper and adult groups in northern Oman.”
written in byTuqa Khalid, Al Arabiya English, Sunday 31 May 2020
Date Palms & Camels 
I hope the infestation is not damaging your food source. Or, I don’t know, maybe people will make something out of the locusts and it will be the food source. When I was a child, I saw a big swarm, too, and the farmers had problems. But that is the only time I have seem them.
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The swarm was of concern here in KSA. As a country with agricultural areas, the locusts can cause problems to crops and in general any green area. We were wondering if they were going to chomp down all the greenery that is planted around our compound, but luckily there were only a few locusts seen here. Just south the cloud passed on out to the sea. For sure if more swarms do come, it can be an economic and agricultural problem to this region. The saving grace is that a percentage of food is grown hydrponically in warehouses with controlled environments.
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Good to know, and I did not know there are plenty of agri areas in KSA. It is great that indoor farming is popular there, too. In the future, I wish to introduce this to storm-beaten islands here to make their food source more stable.
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If you are interested in more KSA agriculture, my post from Aug 11…Agriculture in KSA has a website that is fantastic. Indoor growing has some advantages for sure, as in pest control, water and nutrient control as well. Yes, good for storms as long as electricity isn’t affected. The only drawback I can see from hydroponic systems, are that the food doesn’t seem to last as long on my counter…also the lettuce is thin like paper. That’s what I experience here in KSA.
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