Restaurant owner: During peak season, we sell four to five hundred kilograms a day, which costs 400 yuan per kilogram? Zhejiang Lishui eats cicadas and sells exorbitant vegetation | Video | Restaurant owner

"Catching cicadas sells for 260 yuan per kilogram and earns 10000 yuan in 10 days!" Recently, Lishui, Zhejiang has once again reached the season of eating cicadas every year. Some netizens have started posting videos of catching and eating cicadas on short video platforms. It is said that pure meat cicadas in the local market even sell for 400 yuan per kilogram. Upstream news reporters interviewed several local merchants in Lishui, and it was reported that the current price is not as high, but it still costs around 160 yuan per kilogram, and can only be purchased from other places. A restaurant owner introduced that during peak season, processed cicadas can sell four to five hundred pounds a day.

The cicada dishes sold at Ms. Mao's restaurant. Image source/provided by respondents

According to reports from Zhejiang media, in southwestern Zhejiang, such as Jinhua, Quzhou, and Lishui, cicadas have always been a delicacy on local summer dining tables, even more popular than crayfish. The related news has also attracted reprints from People's Daily and CCTV Weibo.

According to a local catering practitioner, the daily wholesale volume of cicadas in the Lishui area can reach around 12000 kilograms. From June to early September, within 80 days, people in Lishui can eat hundreds of millions of cicadas.

Because there are very few farmed cicadas, the cicadas on the market are all artificially captured and collected, so the prices are not cheap. Recently, a citizen of Lishui shared that wild cicadas can be sold for 260 yuan per kilogram, and can catch up to 5 kilograms per night. In 10 days, they can earn 10000 yuan. Some netizens also captured footage of a citizen spending over 1000 yuan to buy a small bag of processed pure cicada meat at the local market, priced at about 400 yuan per kilogram, while the price of pork in Lishui is around 12 yuan per kilogram.

Mr. Zhang, a local fresh food group buying merchant in Lishui, has recently had to inform customers on his social media that only reservations are accepted due to limited supply, as prices have been trending upwards due to market constraints.

Cicada sold in the Lishui vegetable market in Zhejiang. Image source/Lishui News

Mr. Zhang introduced, "There are no local cicadas now. We all purchase from Quzhou, but due to the limited purchasing volume, we cannot keep up, and there are still many people who have not eaten it, so the market is also very tight now, and prices cannot come down."

Mr. Zhang started selling cicadas on June 26th and said, "We have customers in both the store and retail. At the beginning, it was around three to four hundred yuan per kilogram. When it first came out, it was around 400 yuan per kilogram. Now, it's basically around 160 yuan, and the price fluctuates every day. For example, today it's 170 yuan."

Upstream news reporters noticed that Mr. Zhang's cicadas are mainly divided into three types: live cicadas, big headed meat, and small headed meat. Due to different processing methods, prices also vary. "Big headed meat means pinching the head, removing the tail, and removing the wings, leaving six legs, while small headed meat means leaving four legs."

At present, Mr. Zhang sells live cicadas for 78 yuan per kilogram, large head meat for 158 yuan per kilogram, and small head meat for 198 yuan per kilogram. At the beginning of sales, the live meat costs 140 yuan per kilogram, with large head meat costing 280 yuan per kilogram and small head meat costing 350 yuan per kilogram.

The reporter learned that various hotels and food stalls sell big headed meat. Some citizens need to pick clean small headed meat when they buy it to eat at home. However, after picking big headed meat for one pound of cicadas, it is estimated that there will be about 5 liang left, and only 4 liang left after picking small headed meat.

Four Seasons Cicada is a famous local food stall in Lishui. The owner, Ms. Mao, is also a native of Lishui. She is known as "Cicada Sister" because she often posts videos of Cicada processing on short video platforms. She told Upstream News

Cicada sold in the Lishui vegetable market in Zhejiang. Image source/Lishui News

"The people of Lishui have been eating cicadas for at least fifty or sixty years. When my father was young, he would catch cicadas and eat them. When we were young, we would also use sticky balls or spider webs to catch them in front of bamboo poles." Ms. Mao explained that unlike other places where cicada pupae and cicadas are eaten, Lishui mainly eats a small piece of meat inside the body of adults. "It is very fragrant and tender, more tender than beef or chicken."

"Now the cicadas in Lishui are in short supply. In addition to Quzhou, they will also be purchased from Jiangxi, Hunan, and Hubei." Ms. Mao said that the most popular method in the local area is braised pork, "one serving is about half a pound, priced at 100 yuan. During peak season, it can sell four to five hundred pounds a day. There are also many customers from Hangzhou, Shanghai, and Wenzhou who come to visit and taste it. After tasting it, they will also add WeChat to purchase through express delivery."

Cicadas are pests that can cause damage to trees. In the summer of 2022, cicadas were rampant in Hangzhou, and the local greening department called on citizens to come together and catch cicadas.

Mr. Zhang sells live cicadas, weighing five pounds per bag. Image source/provided by respondents

However, whether consuming billions of cicadas will cause damage to the population, Chen Xuexin, who used to be the director of the Institute of Insect Science at Zhejiang University, believes: "This number is not very large, and currently it will not have a significant impact on the ecology. Moreover, capturing cicadas in moderation is beneficial for vegetation growth. In terms of cicadas' living habits, larvae are generally difficult to detect. The cicadas we eat are adults that have already flown out of the soil. At this time, most of them have completed their mission of mating and laying eggs. Even if they are not eaten, they will naturally die in two to three weeks."

"Insects have a huge population and relatively strong reproductive ability compared to other species. Insects such as cicadas, silkworm pupae, and bamboo worms are actually a good alternative green food and feed," Chen Xuexin said.