Australian plague locusts have been found on the north-west coast of Tasmania.
There have been at least three sightings of small numbers on beaches and in crops.
Government records show that in years of bad locust plagues on mainland Australia some usually do get through to Tasmania.
Entomologist Lionel Hill from the Department of Primary Industry says there’s no need for farmers to worry.
“By the time they blow to Tasmania they’ve got so spread out or died on the way that we don’t usually see enough of them for it to be a problem.”
He says it’s unlikely they would successfully lay eggs in the soil they’ve landed on.
The last plague locust sighting in Tasmania was in 2000, but there were a number of sightings in 1973-4. They were found mostly on the west coast of the state.
