#Locusts are actually spl kinds of grasshoppers known for their gregariousness, which means their bodies actually change as they socialize into swarms, change color and grow bigger muscles as they gather into massive clouds, moving 150 Km/day across landscapes & devastating crops 
Desert locusts only lay eggs in moist soil. When heavy rains come in to saturate the desert, locusts—ever the opportunists—breed like mad and fill the soil with their eggs, perhaps 1,000 per square meter of soil. When those eggs hatch, they have plenty of vegetation to eat.
In 2018, Cyclone Mekunu & Luban brought extreme rain to Arabian Peninsula creating desert lakes, which were ideal for breeding. Then heavy rain in Red Sea coast—also unseasonal—in Jan 2019. An extended rain period of 9 months, then Mar~April-20 rains helped em multiply profusely.
After #kharif attack, FAO predicted that worst was still to come, & that by June, the size of the swarms could grow by a factor of 500. @nstomar & @KailashBaytu promised to bring in new machines/drones, but did not, when #locusts reached MP, they announced to import more machines
Current swarms contain immature locusts, feeding voraciously, before they become ready for mating. With no crops now, Rajasthan does not offer enough to satisfy their hunger. Once they start breeding, the swarm movement will cease/slow & breeding will happen mainly in Rajasthan.
A single gregarious female can lay 60-80 eggs 3 times during avg life cycle of 90 days. If their breeding is coterminous with kharif crop, we could well have a situation similar to what maize, sorghum & wheat farmers of Kenya, Ethiopia & Somalia experienced in Mar-Apr, a wipe out
^1,60,000 times
