Desert locusts, which have already invaded Cyprus and Lebanon, have arrived on Turkey's southern coast, but Turkish officials on Tuesday downplayed any risk of harm to crops.
"We have had sightings of the locusts in four or five villages" in the Mediterranean coastal province of Antalya, Bedrullah Ercin, the head of the local agricultural department, said.
"I do not think they will be very harmful. Temperatures have dropped, so I do not believe they will be able to multiply or cause harm to produce," he added.
He said his office would decide whether there was any need to use pesticide against the locusts once the field survey was completed.
Cyprus has reacted by spraying crops in the worst-affected areas on the western part of the island.
Officials in Cyprus are concerned that the black-dotted red locusts, which can measure about five centimeters (two inches) may start breeding and make the effort to get rid of them much more difficult.
The insects have been munching their way through potato and banana crops.
Red locusts invade Turkey, Lebanon, and Cyprus
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