KEMEHIN, Israel, March 6 (Reuters) - Israel on Wednesday began battling a swarm of locusts from Egypt on Wednesday to prevent crop damage in the south of the country.
Locust clouds darkened skies some three weeks before the Jewish Passover holiday that recalls 10 Biblical plagues, one of them locusts, that struck Egypt during the exodus of Israelite slaves.
The insects covered nearly 2,000 acres (800 hectares) of desert overnight, officials said. Israel sprayed pesticides from the air and land to try to kill them in the early morning before dew on their wings dried and they could take off again.
Miriam Freund, director of plant protection in the Agriculture Ministry, called it a "medium-sized swarm" and her office set up a hotline for farmers to call in case they see it advance.
Source
Subject: Locusts Swarm Israel From Egypt Ahead Of Passover 
Wed Mar 06, 2013 7:46 pm
