Locust God

...In addition, since locust infestations often occurred after major wars, it was said that the undead souls of soldiers who died in battle turned into locusts, and around the time of the Obon Festival in July, the Mu Lian Opera was performed to pray for the souls of the deceased who could not rest in peace. In various places, agricultural gods who exterminate locusts, the Locust-Keeping Gods, were also worshiped, but the best known are Liu Mengjiang, who was based in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions, and Insect King Ye, who rules over insects in the Hebei region. In the early years of the Yongzheng era (1723-35) of the Qing Dynasty, temples for Liu Mengjiang were built in each prefecture in Jiangnan, and festivals were held on the 13th of the first month. ...

*Some of the terminology explanations that mention "locust god" are listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…また飛蝗の害は大戦乱のあとに発生することが多かったので，戦死した兵卒の冤魂（えんこん）が飛蝗に化するなどともいわれ，7月の中元節前後には，成仏できない亡者の冥福を祈って〈目連戯〉が上演された。各地には，飛蝗を駆除する農事神〈駆蝗神〉も祭られたが，よく知られているのは，江蘇･浙江地方を中心とする〈劉猛将（りゆうもうしよう）〉と河北地方の昆虫を統べる〈虫王爺（ちゆうおうや）〉である。劉猛将は，清の雍正(1723‐35)初年には江南各県に廟宇（びようう）が建てられ，正月13日に祭礼がいとなまれたという。…

※「駆蝗神」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報