Press Trust of India Posted online: Thursday, July 18, 2002 at 1448 hours IST Updated: Thursday, July 18, 2002 at 1451 hours IST
Beijing, July 18: Swarms have been spotted flying around the capital. Residents are capturing them by the bagful. They're filled with protein and, some say, delicious—and crunchy—when deep-fried.
Beijing's summer locusts have arrived, though experts say the sand-hued, beady-eyed bugs are more of a nuisance this year than a danger to crops.
The insects, from the outskirts of Beijing or inner Mongolia, aren't the destructive migratory species that laid waste to millions of acres of farmland around the country earlier this year, said Lei Zongren, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences' Institute of Plant Protection.
A continuing drought and a warm winter have provided ideal conditions for locusts to hatch in great numbers. The young, called nymphs, are wingless and thrive in heat.
