In recent days, some media outlets and social media platforms shared claims of a grasshopper invasion in Istanbul and surrounding provinces. The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry launched a comprehensive investigation into these claims.
The ministry stated that inspections and monitoring by teams found no grasshopper invasion threatening agricultural production or any population density causing economic damage in the Marmara Region, particularly in Istanbul and Tekirdağ.
Species identification of the grasshoppers in the images shared with the public confirmed that all belong to native populations naturally found in Turkey. The statement said, 'There is no swarm of grasshoppers reaching our country from the Balkans, Africa, or any other region.'
The species identified in Istanbul was determined to be not a grasshopper harmful to agricultural production, but rather the white-faced bush-cricket (Decticus albifrons), which feeds on agricultural pests and contributes to biological balance.
The ministry reminded that many grasshopper species live naturally in Turkey, and periodic population increases can occur depending on climate conditions and egg-laying periods. It noted that these species can be carried to residential areas by wind and are more frequently noticed by citizens due to their attraction to light in hot weather. It emphasized that this is a natural process and does not constitute an invasion.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry reported that grasshopper populations are regularly monitored by technical teams in 81 provinces under the Annual Plant Health Control Program, and that efforts in Istanbul and Tekirdağ were intensified following recent reports. The statement said that if species that could harm agricultural production reach the economic damage threshold, necessary control measures are implemented without delay, but currently there is no threat requiring such action.
The ministry announced that it will continue monitoring, survey, and control efforts for the protection of crop production based on scientific principles.
