China’s HUGE Bug Disaster: Stand 3 Seconds, Get Covered In Bugs, 28M Acres Of Farmland Devoured

There are so many of these tiny biting bugs. Is there any expert who can come out and solve this problem? Who knows where these tiny things even came from? What exactly are they breeding from? Some people say they come from corn silk. Can any expert explain how to get rid of them? This is terrifying. It's already affecting people's daily lives. Can someone explain what's happening or tell us how to control them? How bad is the outbreak of these bugs in northern China? Take a look. I just sprayed them with water and they've covered my phone screen. A severe outbreak of tiny biting insects has recently hit multiple areas in northern China, including Heilongjiang Province, Harbin, the Greater Qinggan Mountains, and Inner Mongolia. The scale of this infestation has been described as unusually severe. Videos posted by residents on social media show insects swarming in overwhelming numbers. Look at this. There must be at least tens of thousands of these bugs gathered on me. There are still huge swarms flying around in the air. My phone can't even capture it. Oh my god, look at this. It's like an entire army. They've taken me as their nest. They're incredibly aggressive. At this time of year, don't bring yellow cars out. It's just too much. The term xiaoyao, or biting bugs, does not refer to a single species. It's a local term in northern China for small insects that appear in large swarms, including tiny midges and aphid-like insects. Many are winged aphids and other plant-feeding insects. Northern China is now entering what is normally the best season for autumn scenery, with clear skies and forests covered in colorful leaves. But instead, many areas have become places where xiaoyao are everywhere, leaving residents struggling to avoid them. Look at this bug. I just stopped my car to take a picture. You don't have to come after me like this. For everyone visiting the greater Qinggan Mountains to see the autumn scenery, please be careful. This is the most beautiful time of year here, with autumn colors everywhere. But it's also when these bugs are at their worst. This is what they look like. It's really scary. Wear proper clothing. Don't expose areas that don't need to be exposed, and bring some insect repellent. Their bites are extremely painful. No matter where you are, the moment you stop to take a photo or record a video, these monsters will swarm towards you. Faced with swarms of insects filling the sky, desperate residents have covered themselves from head to toe before going outside. Let me share a little trick. During this season in northern China, there are a lot of these tiny biting bugs. When you go outside, they fly straight into your eyes and even your mouth. If you have large eyes, it's better not to go out. But if you have to, here's a trick. Just do what I do. Wear a pair of goggles and a mask, and that's it. These things are so annoying. They fly into your mouth and get into your eyes. Where exactly did these bugs come from? One Harbin resident offered an explanation. These tiny bugs are flying everywhere. I don't know what's going on with Harbin lately. There are bugs everywhere. This morning, someone told me it's because there are fewer dragonflies. The natural predators are disappearing, so the bugs are coming out in large numbers. That comment actually points to a key part of the issue. Dragonfly larvae, known as aquatic nymphs, spend a large part of their lives underwater. It can take them anywhere from several months to several years before they emerge as adult dragonflies. They are extremely sensitive to water quality. Even slight pollution can make it difficult for them to survive, which is why they are often considered one of nature's most sensitive indicators of water conditions. Because of this, areas with many species and large populations of dragonflies usually have cleaner water, abundant aquatic plants, and relatively healthy ecosystems across streams and river basins. On the other hand, when dragonflies suddenly disappear from an area, it often signals that the local water environment has already been damaged. However, under the Chinese Communist Party's policies of fighting against nature and aggressively extracting resources from the environment, many parts of China have experienced years of ecological exploitation. China's annual pesticide use has remained among the highest in the world. The amount of fertilizer applied per hectare of farmland in China reaches over 1,000 pounds, which is two times higher than the United Kingdom and 3.69 times higher than the United States, far exceeding the average levels of developed countries. These heavily used chemical pesticides, with long-lasting residues, combined with excessive application of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers, are washed away by rainfall and irrigation water in rivers, lakes, and ponds. Pesticides directly kill aquatic insects, while excess nitrogen and phosphorus cause large-scale algae growth that consumes oxygen in the water. Fish and aquatic insects then die in large numbers due to oxygen depletion. As one of the aquatic larvae most sensitive to water quality, dragonfly nymphs struggle to survive in water polluted by pesticides and chemical fertilizers. The recent infestation in many parts of Heilongjiang mainly consists of plant-eating insects such as aphids and other similar pests. But this uncontrolled surge of pests is not an isolated problem in northeast China. China's own agricultural monitoring system had already acknowledged that in 2025, aphid infestations expanded nationwide and became increasingly severe. Aphids were even listed as the top wheat pest threat, requiring priority prevention that year. Yet when disasters occur, Chinese authorities have repeatedly avoided discussing the issue directly, instead attributing everything to simple explanations, such as higher temperatures and lower rainfall. According to monitoring and forecasting data released in recent years by the Chinese government, aphid infestations across China are no longer isolated outbreaks. They have remained at an alarming scale of hundreds of millions of acres of affected farmland. In 2023, wheat aphids affected a staggering 36.2 million acres of farmland, with major wheat-producing regions assessed as having moderate to severe outbreak conditions. In 2025, the affected area was still expected to reach 33 million acres. Even in 2026, when the predicted affected area fell slightly to 28 million acres, the scale remained alarming. That is equivalent to an area of farmland larger than the combined size of two Jiangsu provinces being overwhelmed by pests. Key agricultural regions such as northern Henan and southern Hebei were still classified as high-risk infestation zones. Meanwhile, in southern China's rice-growing regions, another even more destructive pest outbreak is rapidly spreading. Brown planthoppers, which reproduce extremely quickly and have strong migration abilities, have broken out across Guangxi, Guangdong, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Fujian, and other areas. Swarms of insects have descended on rice fields, aggressively sucking sap from rice plants. In some fields, rice has turned yellow and collapsed across large areas. In the most severely affected areas, the damage has reached the point where entire fields have been pierced through, with once-green rice paddies losing their vitality one section after another, as if their life had been drained away. More concerning is that this is not a small-scale problem limited to a few fields. Large numbers of brown planthoppers continue to migrate and spread. Once their population density rises, entire rice fields can quickly be overwhelmed. Farmers watch helplessly as crops go from yellowing, to falling over, to dying across large areas. They can only spray pesticides repeatedly, yet the insects return again and again, as if they cannot be eliminated. I'm taking my friend to see something. A lot of people probably have never seen this in their entire lives. This is my first time seeing it too. This pile is all dead brown planthoppers. There must be at least 100 pounds here. This is the brown planthopper, right? Oh my god, there are so many. Just looking at them gives me goosebumps. The rice plants have all been eaten by these brown planthoppers. This year's massive brown planthopper outbreak has not only damaged rice fields. In some towns and villages, residents' daily lives have also been disrupted, as swarms of insects invade their homes and communities. As pest numbers in the fields continue to rise, farmers have been forced to spray pesticides again and again. Some farmers say certain fields have already been sprayed three or four times. The strong smell of pesticide fills the air, yet the insects remain difficult to control. Brown planthoppers are highly capable of migration. At dusk, large numbers of winged planthoppers take flight and spread from farmland into nearby areas. Wherever there are lights, including farm courtyards, street food stalls, and restaurants, huge swarms of flying insects can gather almost instantly. Residents are afraid to open their doors and windows at night. Sometimes insects even fall into their food, seriously disrupting daily life. You guys really won't stop, will you? The rice has already been harvested, but you still won't let go. There's only a little bit of stubble left, and you're still attacking it. Look at how densely packed they are. This year has been so difficult. Some people are sprayed three or four times, and they still can't get rid of them. Look at this field. After harvesting, there's still water left here. This is the only green patch. Come take a look. The whole thing is covered with brown planthoppers. Here they come, here they come, bringing toxic chemicals with them. This fast-acting pesticide really works. The front section was sprayed earlier, and now the insects are dying behind it. Let me show you. You can't see them on the grain anymore, but there's a layer of them floating in the water. Look at this. What kind of fast-acting pesticide was used? The simplest one, dichlorovis mixed with chlorpyrifos. They're floating everywhere. These insecticides don't just target brown planthoppers. Their fast action also means they can kill large numbers of non-target insects. They can leave toxic chemicals in the air and contaminate soil and water systems. The heavier the use of highly toxic chemical pesticides, the stronger the pest resistance becomes. At the same time, the natural predators that help control pest populations are destroyed even more severely. China's National Plant Protection System had already predicted major rice pests and diseases in 2026. By 2026, it specifically classified brown planthopper infestations in southern China's rice-growing regions as moderately severe. Plant protection authorities in Fujian province issued an even more direct warning, saying that the number of migrating insects entering areas including Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan, and Jiangxi had reached the highest level seen in nearly three years. In other words, while farmers were repeatedly spraying their fields and still watching insect swarms spread everywhere, official monitoring systems had already detected that this pest outbreak was taking shape. However, under China's rigid bureaucratic system that prioritizes following orders from above, early warnings became nothing more than paperwork, and prevention measures were effectively meaningless. By late August, the situation in Fujian had not still fully improved. According to data released by the Fujian Provincial Plant Protection and Quarantine Station, As of August 26, major rice pests and diseases had affected 11.8 million acres of farmland across the province, an increase of 18.4% compared with the previous year. The agency predicted that in the next stage, major pest and disease outbreaks would affect another 10.4 million acres, a sharp increase of 71% year-over-year. It also specifically warned of an extremely high risk of large numbers of returning brown plant hoppers during the later growth stages of mid- and late-season rice. These cold figures released by official agencies further contradict the Chinese government's claims that it has, quote, effective prevention and control measures, end quote. Despite knowing that disasters were approaching, authorities continued issuing warnings and calling for pest control while watching millions of acres of farmland fall victim to infestation. This reflects the deeper problems within the system's ability to respond to agricultural crises. The same failure of governance had already played out in March 2026. At a critical time when rapeseed flowers were blooming across many parts of China and bees were actively collecting nectar, local governments in Heiyang County in Hunan Province and Ayi County in Jiangxi Province carried out large-scale drone pesticide spraying. The operations ignored the overlap between flowering periods and bee activity. Hence, large numbers of bees were poisoned. Several beekeepers in Heiyang County said local authorities did not provide advance notice before spraying within the required three-mile range. After the spraying, large numbers of poisoned bees were found lying motionless in front of the hives. In Ayi County, a beekeeper surnamed Peng said he saw drones operating just 66 feet away from his beehives. Within only a few weeks, a colony that originally contained 50,000 bees had been reduced to just 20 to 30 percent of its original population. When beekeepers questioned the authorities, the Heiyang County Agricultural and Rural Affairs Bureau responded that the beekeepers had failed to register and that officials were unable to contact them. With a simple dismissal, responsibility for the ecological damage was pushed aside. Beekeepers in many regions have posted videos describing similar experiences. Drones are spraying pesticides above our apiary. Will this affect our bees? Will it harm them? Can we still continue raising bees? Who sprayed pesticides here? They killed my bees. Look at this one. It was still collecting pollen and now it's dead. Look at this. Its mouth is still open. Do you see that? This is a typical symptom of pesticide poisoning. The ones over here are the same. Everyone, the bees in our village are facing a devastating disaster. I don't know whether it was caused by recent drone pesticide spraying or mosquito spraying for dengue fever, but almost all these bees in our village have died. Look at my apiary. I had more than a dozen colonies. Look at this one, that one, and those over there. They're all dead. Let me show you. Basically, all the bees are gone. Don't get too close. You can see that all these bees are dead. Research by the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences had already confirmed serious problems with pesticide drift from agricultural drones. Within 16 feet downward of the spraying area, nearly one quarter of the pesticide fails to land on the intended farmland and instead spreads into the surrounding environment. Even 56 feet away, the drift rate remains as high as 2.79%, which is five times higher than traditional manual spraying. However, with local governments heavily subsidizing and promoting unified pest control, this crude, indiscriminate, and poorly regulated spraying method is spreading rapidly across rural areas nationwide. When a government-led, top-down pesticide spraying system cannot even implement basic measures, such as avoiding flowering periods or notifying nearby residents and beekeepers, the damage no longer distinguishes between pests and beneficial insects, causing large numbers of bees to die unnecessarily. From sparrows and frogs to bees, species that should help maintain ecological balance have fallen one after another. The consequences have already become visible. As early as 2003, Pulun Bir in Inner Mongolia suffered a major grasshopper outbreak after persistent drought combined with a grassland moth larva infestation the previous year. The affected area reached 9.9 million acres, with the highest density in severely affected areas reaching 128 grasshoppers per square meter. Large areas' pastures were completely consumed. Since then, similar disasters have become increasingly frequent. Around 2011, another grassland locust outbreak in Inner Mongolia expanded to 50 million acres, including 22 million acres suffering severe damage. That figure was more than five times larger than the historic grasshopper disaster in Pulun Bir in 2003. Recently, in June 2026, another major locust outbreak occurred in pastoral areas such as Sunayt Rait Banner in Inner Mongolia. The initial affected prevention and control area covered nearly 50,000 acres. Local authorities were forced to deploy a multi-layered response, including aerial spraying across the region, precision pesticide application by drones, and large-scale ground spraying using vehicle-mounted equipment. Locust disasters are not limited to northwest China. Southwest China has also been unable to escape the problem. In the summer of 2020, Jiangcheng County in Pu'er City, Yunnan Province, experienced an invasion of yellow-spine bamboo locusts described as occurring once in several decades. The total affected area reached approximately 19,000 acres. However, the outbreak did not disappear. By 2024, large numbers of yellow-spine bamboo locusts once again migrated across the China-Laos border into China. This time, the affected area expanded from a single county to three prefectural-level regions. The combined area of affected farmland and forest reached approximately 22,200 acres, exceeding the scale of the 2020 outbreak. A forecast report released by the government in 2025 further pointed out that the China-Laos border has developed into a fixed migration corridor for yellow-spine bamboo locusts. Whenever wind patterns and rainfall conditions are suitable between July and August, outbreaks can occur again. Once an ecosystem becomes unbalanced, pests can exploit the weakness and erupt during the years with warmer temperatures and lower rainfall. Each outbreak becomes increasingly difficult to control. In traditional Chinese political philosophy, floods, droughts, pests, and locust plagues were never viewed as merely agricultural problems. They were seen as manifestations of the relationship between heaven and humanity, reflecting the success or failure of governance. When disasters occurred, emperors throughout history would often issue self-criticism edicts, reduce or waive taxes, open government granaries for relief, seek advice from officials and the public, and work to address corruption and administrative failures. For example, according to historical accounts, after King Tang of Shang overthrew the Xia Dynasty and established the Shang Dynasty, a severe drought lasted for seven years. Rivers dried up, vegetation withered, and people suffered greatly. Court diviners said that a human sacrifice was needed to pray for rain. Tang could not bear to sacrifice innocent people, so he personally went to the Mulberry Forest ritual site, cut off his hair and nails as an offering, and offered himself in place of the people. He knelt on a pile of firewood and prayed to heaven, asking himself six questions to reflect on his own failures. Have I failed to govern with restraint? Have the people lost their livelihoods? Have my palaces become too extravagant? Have women close to me gained too much influence? Have gifts and corruption spread? Have slanderers gained power? Why has the rain failed to come to such an extreme point? Legend says that before his prayer was finished, heavy rain fell, and the drought ended. This story became known as the Prayer for Rain at the Mulberry Forest. Throughout the long history of human civilization, the collapse of tyranny has rarely begun with a sudden political upheaval. Instead, it often begins with ecosystems falling out of balance, and repeated signs of unusual natural events being interpreted as warnings. The Book of Exodus records that when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to change and harmed his people, God sent the ten plagues. The third plague was a plague of lice, and the fourth was a plague of flies. Swarms of insects spread across Egypt, bringing disaster throughout the land and devastating the country. In the end, Egypt was left in ruin, the foundations of Pharaoh's rule were shaken, and his tyranny moved towards collapse.