Before revision:  Our model also provides a prescription for deducing the time for transitioning from the swarmer (reproductively quiescent ) to stalked (reproduction able) stage of the {\em C. crescentus} lifecycle ; our predictions match with previous indirect estimates. We discuss the scalings of all timescales with external parameters that control the balanced growth state .
After revision:  Our model also provides a prescription for deducing the time for transitioning from the swarmer (reproductively quiescent ) to stalked (reproduction able) stage of the {\em C. crescentus} lifecycle . Remarkably, population numbers can spontaneously oscillate with time. We elucidate the physics leading to these population oscillations .