Published:05:32 EST, 25 February 2026|Updated:05:38 EST, 25 February 2026
A 'stay calm' message has been issued in four Spanish holiday hotspots after swarms of locusts descended on the Canary Islands.
Officials in Lanzarote, Tenerife, Gran Canaria and Fuerteventura insist the giant insects pose no danger to the public but warn they could threaten crops if numbers surge into a full-blown plague, as happened 20 years ago.
Videos shared on social media show hundreds of locusts swirling through the countryside.
The insects are believed to have blown in from Western Sahara following recent warm, wet weather.
The locusts, known locally as Barbary cigarrón (Schistocerca gregaria), have been spotted across Lanzarote, including popular tourist areas such as Arrecife, Costa Teguise, Famara, Uga and Tahíche.
Two decades ago, a plague of the species wreaked havoc on crops and disrupted daily life on the island, with firefighters deployed in some areas to tackle the infestation.
Historically, the locust has arrived from the African continent on easterly or south-easterly winds carrying Saharan dust.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, it is the world's most destructive migratory pest and, under certain environmental conditions, can form dense, fast-moving swarms.
A 'stay calm' message has been issued in four Spanish holiday hotspots after swarms of locusts descended on the Canary Islands
Source: Drudge Report
