[2] Adult Australian plague locusts range in size from 20 to 45 mm in length, and the colour varies from brown to green.

[4] The locust can be found in a variety of grassland and open wooded habitats across the inland areas of the Australian mainland.

Upper-level winds may occasionally carry locusts to coastal areas of the mainland and northern Tasmania and may establish populations in the eastern valleys of the Great Dividing Range; these populations usually fail to establish themselves for more than a few generations.

[7] Gregarious populations of locusts form swarms, recurring in central Eastern Australia once every two or three years.

[10] Swarms can travel up to 800 km (500 mi), tending to move with hot winds and generally towards the coast in most cases.

During these conditions, the lifecycle pattern may change to one in which the period from hatching to maturity is reduced to 2.5 months.

[9][12] Two older-generation organophosphates, fenitrothion and chlorpyrifos, are also used occasionally for auxiliary, blanket spray runs, and the bioinsecticide 'Green Guard', made from a native fungal isolate of Metarhizium acridum.

The latter is based on technology developed by CSIRO and the LUBILOSA programme, and now accounts for more than 12% of spray applications: for protected, organic farming, or environmentally susceptible areas such as water courses.