It may sounds like yet another "out-there" diet, but cicadas are actually one of the most popular summertime dishes in eastern China's Zhejiang province, especially in the city of Lishui.

听起来这又像是一道"黑暗料理"，不过知了在中国东部的浙江省，尤其是丽水市，可是夏季最流行的小吃。

"Cicadas are high in protein and low in fat; eating cicadas in appropriate quantities is also good for plants and other flora¹. The only problem is that most of the cicadas people eat now are wild, so it is important to ensure that the cicadas are fully cooked in case of parasites," said professor Mo Jianchu from Zhejiang University.

浙江大学教授莫建初表示："知了含有高蛋白低脂肪，吃掉适量的知了对植物生长也有一定好处。唯一的问题是，人们吃的知了大多数都是野生的，会携带一些寄生虫，所以烹饪的时候一定要烧熟、烧透。"

Jiang Yongchun, a manager from a local food company, explained that people in rural Lishui have been eating cicadas for many years. Around the end of 1980s, cicadas become a common dish in restaurants. Usually it is a seasonal² dish, served from June to September.

当地一家食品公司总经理蒋永春表示，丽水农村很早就有人吃蝉。从上世纪80年代末开始，蝉出现在了酒店的菜谱上。通常这是一道时令菜肴，基本在6月到9月提供。

During busy times, Jiang said he can sell over 1 ton of cicadas in one day. There are at least six to seven cicada dealers³ in Lishui, and their daily sales total is between 6 and 7.5 tons.

蒋永春说，旺季时知了每天的批发量达1千多公斤。在丽水，专门从事知了批发生意的经销商有6到7家，每天的批发量共1.2万至1.5万斤。

According to these statistics, people in Lishui consume billions of cicadas in the roughly 80 days of "cicada season."

根据初步估算，在6月到9月这80天的"知了季"里，丽水人会吃掉上亿只知了。

Because of this extensive consumption, the cicadas people eat in Lishui come also from Quzhou, and even some places in Jiangxi province.

由于消费量的扩大，丽水这几年还转向浙江衢州甚至江西等地收购。

"Capturing cicadas in appropriate amounts is actually good for the growth of vegetation, though overconsumption does have an impact on the ecological⁴ chain. But so far the population has not been influenced, since the cicadas are not only from Lishui but also other places," professor Mo explained.

莫教授对此表示："尽管过量消费确实会对生态链产生影响，但是适量的捕食知了对蔬菜的生长还是有利的。由于知了不仅来自丽水还来自其他地方，所以迄今为止并未受到影响。"