תהלים, פרק ק״ה, פסוק ל״ד

The devastating plague of locusts in Egypt, striking directly after the plague of hail, reveals a precise divine plan. God issued a direct decree, setting in motion an invasion of unimaginable scale [אבן עזרא]. The survival of certain crops, such as wheat and barley, during the earlier hailstorm was no accident. Rather, it was a deliberate act by God, intended specifically to leave an abundant food supply for the swarms of pests He knew were coming [אלשיך].

These insects arrived in enormous, countless numbers [שטיינזלץ, מצודת דוד]. Within this massive swarm, a specific and highly destructive type of locust was present. The primary approach among commentators is that this particular species is highlighted because it represents the most severe and damaging kind of pest [אבן עזרא].

However, others note a clear division of labor among the different insects to ensure total ruin. While the standard locust consumed all the grass of the land, a specialized species completed the devastation by attacking the fruits of the ground, a food source that ordinary locusts typically ignore [מלבי״ם].