also: とびばった
locust swarm; swarming locusts
Refers to a large group of locusts in flight or the phenomenon of locust swarming. The reading ひこう is more formal or technical; とびばった is the common colloquial reading.
In Africa, locust swarms caused great damage to crops.
とびばったが空を覆うように飛んでいた。
The swarming locusts were flying as if covering the sky.
Standard kanji spelling for the reading ひこう.
Rare spelling; the reading とびばった is more commonly written in kana or as 飛蝗.
Kana spelling for the reading とびばった, which is a common way to write this word.
Compound of 飛 (hi, 'flying') + 蝗 (kō, 'locust'). The reading とびばった is a native Japanese compound of 飛び (tobi, 'flying') + ばった (batta, 'grasshopper/locust').