Cicadas have replaced crayfish as the most popular culinary delight in an East China city this summer, with people consuming up to 5 tons of the insects in a single day, Qianjiang Evening News reported on Aug 1.

People in Yongkang, Zhejiang province, have been eating cicadas for years, but only this summer have they started a craze for the insects.

Huang Tongxing, a cicada wholesaler who has run a business at a food market for five years, said he used to sell several hundred grams of cicadas a day, but this year daily sales over 1 kilogram are common, and one day he even sold 4 kg.

Cicada restaurants can be seen on almost every street.

Local people only eat the meat at the back of cicadas, which can be stir-fried or deep fried, with or without spicy ingredients.

Because the supply of fresh cicadas only lasts from early July to early August, every kilogram of cicada meat could cost as much as 130 yuan ($21), the report said.

But the high price has not deterred people. Rather, many find the meat of cicadas, which is high in protein and low in fat, irresistible.

"It is so tasty that I cannot stop eating cicadas," the report quoted Ying Wenqing as saying.

Most cacidas sold in Yangkang are supplied by middlemen who collect the insects from nearby mountainous areas.