It lives a solitary existence but in some years its numbers increase sharply, and it becomes gregarious and congregates to form swarms which can cause devastation in agricultural areas.

The range of the Moroccan locust extends from the Canary Islands and Madeira in the west to Kazakhstan and Afghanistan in the east.

From the second instar stage onwards, the hoppers aggregate and the population density can reach several thousand nymphs per square metre.

Multiple generations can be present, and the numbers of adults can build up rapidly, reaching 300 individuals per square metre in extreme cases.

Winged adults take flight en masse at low altitudes, travelling at eight to ten metres per second and may migrate sixty kilometres during the season.

This is particularly noticeable in European countries where, with the notable exception of Sardinia (Italy),[4] the species no longer seems to be an economic threat while in north Africa and parts of central Asia it still flourishes.

A more important factor may be the increase of cropland at the expense of grassland, since the female needs undisturbed soil in which to deposit her eggs.

At the other extreme, overgrazing and deforestation in some areas provide a favourable environment for the species to thrive and remain destructive.

[7] The locust needs firm, bare soil for egg laying and when they hatch, the nymphs move to progressively taller and denser vegetation.