Locusts.

Such small insects, barely distinguishable from a grasshopper.

And yet, when they came together into a frenzied cloud, they would devour anything in sight. There was not much to do when he locusts came for you. Get her what crops you could, string out nets, shutter the windows and doors and fill the gaps with clay. Hope that you had gathered enough to supplement your stores to last you until the next harvest.

There were warnings, of course. The first thing done when the pale clouds were seen on the horizon was to build two smoky fires, 20 strides apart, to warn others. By the angle of he fires, others could tell the general angle that the locusts were coming.

Herds could be driven away from these smoky clouds, but farmers could only wait or hope, hope that the locusts didn't come, or if they did, that they could make up for what was lost by feeding on the insects themselves. Many said that they would rather die then feast on the blight that tormented them.

Many did.