"Catch cicadas and sell them for 260 yuan a catty, and earn 10,000 yuan in 10 days!" Recently, Lishui, Zhejiang has come to eat cicadas every year. Some netizens have begun to post videos of catching and eating cicadas on short video platforms. The
upstream news reporter interviewed many local merchants in Lishui. According to reports, the current price is not so high, but it costs about 160 yuan per catty, and they can only buy from other places. According to a restaurant owner, during the peak season, processed cicadas can be sold for four to five hundred catties a day.
▲Cicada dishes sold in Ms. Mao's restaurant. Photo source/photo courtesy of interviewees
According to Zhejiang media reports, cicada has always been a delicacy on the local summer table in southwestern Zhejiang such as Jinhua, Quzhou, Lishui and other places, even more popular than crayfish. Relevant news has also been reposted by People’s Daily and CCTV Weibo.
According to the estimation of a local catering practitioner, the wholesale volume of cicadas in Lishui area can reach about 12,000 catties per day. Within 80 days from June to early September, Lishui people can eat hundreds of millions of cicadas.
Cicadas are rarely bred, and all cicadas on the market are collected manually, so they are expensive. Recently, a Lishui citizen shared that wild cicadas can be sold for 260 yuan per catty, and they can catch up to 5 catties in one night, which can earn 10,000 yuan in 10 days. Netizens also photographed a citizen buying a small bag of pre-processed Cicada meat at a local vegetable market for more than 1,000 yuan.
"Cicada is limited by the market stock, and prices tend to rise recently, so now only accept reservations, first come first served, please understand." Mr. Zhang (surname changed) is a local fresh food group buying merchant in Lishui. Recently, due to the shortage of supply, he had to inform customers in Moments that only accept reservations.
▲Cicadas are sold in the vegetable market in Lishui, Zhejiang. Image source/Lishui News
Mr. Zhang introduced: "Now there are no local cicadas. We all purchase from Quzhou. The purchase volume cannot keep up, and many people have not eaten it, so the market is also very tight now, and the price can't come down." The price also fluctuates every day, for example, 170 yuan today."
Upstream news reporters noticed that there are three types of cicadas that Mr. Zhang sells, one is live cicadas, the other is big-headed meat, and the other is small-headed meat. Because of different processing methods, the price is also different. , small head meat 198 yuan a catty. When it first started selling, live meat cost 140 yuan per catty, big-headed meat cost 280 yuan per catty, and small-headed meat cost 350 yuan per catty. The
reporter learned that all kinds of hotels and food stalls sell big-headed meat. Some citizens need to pick clean small-headed meat when they buy it for home.
Four Seasons Cicada is a well-known food stall in Lishui. Ms. Mao, the proprietress, is also a native of Lishui. Because she often publishes Cicada-processed videos on the short video platform, she is called "Sister Cicada." Photo source/Lishui News
"People in Lishui have been eating cicadas for at least 50 or 60 years. My father would catch cicadas and eat them when we were young. When we were young, we would use sticky balls or spider webs to put them in front of bamboo poles to catch them." According to Ms. Mao, unlike cicada pupae and golden cicadas (cicadas) eaten in other places, Lishui mainly eats a small piece of meat from the adult body. "It is very fragrant and tender, more tender than beef and chicken." Yes, in addition to Quzhou, it will also be purchased from Jiangxi, Hunan, and Hubei."Ms. Mao said that the most popular local method is braised. "A serving is about half a catty, and the price is 100 yuan. During the peak season, it can sell four to five hundred catties a day. There are also many customers from Hangzhou, Shanghai, and Wenzhou who come to travel. After tasting it, they will add WeChat to buy it through express delivery." "
Cicadas are pests that can cause damage to trees. In the summer of 2022, Hangzhou Cicadas will be flooded. The local greening department has called on the general public to catch Cicadas together.
▲Mr. It has a great impact, and capturing an appropriate amount of cicadas is beneficial to the growth of vegetation. As far as the living habits of cicadas are concerned, larvae are generally difficult to be found. The cicadas we eat are adult insects that have flown out of the soil. At this time, most of them have completed the mission of mating and laying eggs. Even if they are not eaten, they will die naturally in two or three weeks. The population of "
" insects is huge, and its reproductive ability is relatively strong compared to other species. Cicadas, silkworm chrysalis, and bamboo worms are actually a good alternative green food and feed. "Chen Xuexin said.
