Because of the vast geographic area it occupies, which comprises many different ecological zones, numerous subspecies have been described.

While it reaches plague proportions in drier areas, it is solitary in northern Australia savannas.

[1] Many other species of grasshopper with gregarious and possibly migratory behaviour are referred to as 'locusts' in the vernacular, including the widely distributed desert locust.

[4] Increased extracellular K+ was found to cause membrane depolarization in muscle activating nerves by Hoyle 1953.

[5] Locusts are highly mobile, and usually fly with the wind at a speed of about 15 to 20 kilometres per hour (9.3 to 12.4 mph).

The Malagasy migratory locust (L. m. capito) still regularly swarms (roughly twice every ten years).

[10] L. migratoria is found over a vast geographic area, and its range covers many different ecological zones.

[11] Other species of Orthoptera that display gregarious and migratory behaviour are called locusts.

This includes: The Senegalese grasshopper (Oedaleus senegalensis) also often displays locust-like behaviour in the Sahel region.