Swarms of young locusts have been found in Beihai, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, since Monday.

More than 154 hectares of land in the city's export processing zone have been affected. An average 1,000 of the insects were discovered per square meter, said local officials.

In some areas, the density is 5,000 locusts per square meter. They haven't started eating grass and crops as the eclosion is expected around August 12.

Local authorities plan to kill them in the next few days.

(eastday.com August 4, 2004)