Egypt swarms with locustsCAIRO (AP) — In an echo of the biblical plagues, millions of locusts swarmed into northern Egypt on Wednesday for the first time in 50 years, prompting authorities to order emergency pesticide spraying to protect the region's important agriculture industry. Clouds of the red insects, up to 2 1/2 inches long, flitted about over Cairo, while others hopped around on rooftops. By evening, the skies were clear. Christian Pantenius, program coordinator of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization office in Egypt, said the swarm was an offshoot of a serious locust infestation in West Africa that was blown by strong winds across the Sahara. He said locusts also were spotted in Crete and Lebanon. The FAO described the insect clouds as a "medium density swarm of locusts numbering several million, if not a billion," covering several square miles.
