Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN) – Social media activists circulated videos and pictures of large quantities of locusts inside Al-Sharia Stadium in the Emirate of Makkah during the Al-Nasr and Al-Wehda club match, which sparked interaction.
The National Center for the Prevention and Control of Plant Pests and Animal Diseases in Saudi Arabia, or what is known as “Waqaa”, issued an explanatory statement in which it said: “What is circulating on social media regarding the presence of desert locusts in Al-Shariaa Stadium in Makkah Al-Mukarramah, but it is a type of hopper called a hopper.” Or the locust, which is an insect of the genus (blue-winged grasshopper) belonging to the family Acrididae, and its scientific name is (Oedipoda caerulescanes).
“Waqaa” confirmed in a statement published that “this insect is relatively similar to the desert locust insect in terms of shape, except that it differs from it in terms of behavior and that it has no damage to agricultural crops, and it is usually found in abundance on the roads and on lamps in the evening.”
And the center stated that “this insect cannot form large groups that move in the form of swarms and does not move to long distances, and it is not harmful and does not affect plants or humans.”