Lanzarote Locusts “not a threat”

The Cabildo’s Environmental Department has stated that the swarm of locusts spotted near Famara on Tuesday has now dispersed and that the insects do not pose a threat to crops on the island.

Councillor Samuel Martín said that preliminary studies suggested that the locusts appeared to be adults, approaching the end of their lives and exhausted after a long flight. As a result, they pose little threat to crops.

He added that the island’s main crop, grapevines, was unlikely to be affected by locusts given their preference for other plants.

Nevertheless, the possibility that the rains forecast for later today could revive the insects means that the situation will continue to be closely monitored. 

Individual locusts have been reported all over the island in recent days, but the large grasshoppers pose no threat at all to humans or plants.