From Der Spiegel:
When the locust population becomes too big, and their food supply -- in many cases farmers' crops -- becomes scant, a radical metamorphosis of the insects is set in motion. "Within a few hours, the crowding triggers a complete change in their behavior," said zoologist Hans-Joerg Ferenz of the University of Halle-Wittenberg. The masses of insects instinctually begin a wide-ranging search for food. The young animals change their color over the course of a few weeks and a cataclysmic chain reaction is unleashed.
The FAO began issuing warnings about the problem early, and in February it requested $9 million in direct aid for insecticides and airplane and helicopter missions. In fact, quick and decisive action could have stopped the plague at that point. "If you intervene early, you have a good chance," said Ferenz. After all, the insects start their feeding frenzy on foot, marching in troops several kilometers long. For five to six weeks, the masses of young locusts walz through the landscape eating everything in sight. They molt five times, and only then do they develop their wings.
From that point on, the plague can no longer be contained. Pure happenstance -- the wind -- determines which feeding grounds the adult animals will attack next. The swarms can cover up to 200 kilometers (120 miles) per day; and the ground troops, by this point, have literally turned into an air force.
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