Terrifying 1,000ft tornado of locusts pictured in Portugal

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tornado-of-locusts-pictured-in-portugal

A bizarre tornado (or bugnado?) made from insects has been caught on camera.

The huge funnel-like cloud was spotted by renowned photographer Ana Filipa Scarpa in Vila Franca de Xira, north of Lisbon, Portugal.

Ana, 54, spotted the 1,000-foot-high swarm of bugs, which was thought to be made from red locusts, in an area known as Leziria Grande - meaning big plain.

The massive twister of insects was about a quarter of a mile from Ana when she took these amazing pictures back in March.

Ana, who has had work selected for the Sony World Photography Award 2014, said it was a mixture of awe and fear when she realised it wasn't wind making the cloud.

iStockphoto
iStockphoto



She said: "At first I believed it was a wind twister, the animals around me were very nervous.

"I stayed in my place and looked for a safe place, but there was none, and at the same time the twister was never reaching me.

"So I entered my car and drove towards it. After some metres I realised that an enormous amount of insects were in fact the tornado.

"I suppose it would be better a wind twister, than a bug twister. I cannot imagine what could happen to me if they had caught me.

"It's not known for sure what kind of bugs make up this swarm, but they may be red locusts.

"The swarm extended perhaps 1,000 ft. It was nearly a quarter of a mile away from my position and I took the picture with a 200 mm lens.

"Perspective makes the leading edge of the swarm appear smaller and thus tapered."



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