CATDOLL : CATDOLL: Is it possible to breed cicadas?

1. Is it possible to breed golden cicadas?

Golden cicadas can be artificially bred. As the social demand for golden cicadas continues to increase, relying solely on collection is far from meeting market demand. Many places have begun to shift the way of natural resource collection to artificial large-scale breeding. Golden cicada breeding season: The hatching of golden cicada eggs is approximately from the beginning of March to the beginning of June in the Gregorian calendar, and the hatched eggs are planted approximately from the end of April to the end of June in the Gregorian calendar.

Warm reminder: Golden cicadas are protected wild animals. Protecting wild animals starts with ourselves. We should refuse to buy or sell wild animal products and do not interfere with the free life of wild animals. The current behavior of eating precious and endangered wild animals is not only a social bad habit, but also one of the reasons why illegal hunting and killing of precious and endangered wild animals are rampant. No buying or selling means no killing. Stop eating wild animals. They do not belong on the table.

2. Can cicadas be raised on golden willow?

This willow can be used to raise cicadas.

Golden Cicada

Golden cicada, also known as grasshopper cicada, belongs to the family Cicadidae of the order Homoptera of the class Insecta. It is an insect with incomplete metamorphosis, and its growth and development go through three stages: egg, nymph, and adult.

Primary seed sources can be obtained by naturally collecting in the field. Eggs, nymphs, and adults can all be collected as seed sources. All stages of insects can be collected from July to September; August to September is the best season for collecting nymphs, and September is the best time to collect cicada egg branches. Cicadas can be collected all year round.

To collect eggs, you can choose an ideal place with dense trees and many cicadas. Use fruit branch shears or a long pole with a hook on the top to gently remove the 1- to 2-year-old thin tangerine branches that have been killed by cicada eggs. Any tangerine branch with a flat stem on one side and an incomplete surface and a large number of milky white long oval eggs embedded in the wood under the skin is a cicada egg. Cut off the excess eggless tangerine branches above the egg-laying nest, leave 10 to 15 cm of eggless branches below the egg-laying nest, and bundle about 50 branches into a small bundle and put them in a plastic bag for later use.

Breeding

The breeding targets are newly hatched nymphs and eggs that are close to hatching. The branches with eggs collected directly from the wild or in the seed source site are concentrated indoors to promote hatching. Hatching method: In a plastic box of 70cm x 40cm x 20cm, spread 5 to 10cm thick fine sand on the bottom, and place the egg branches in bundles vertically or horizontally on it. Use a small sprayer to spray mist water continuously to maintain high humidity around the branches with eggs, so that excess water droplets are absorbed in the fine sand at the bottom. At the same time, the hatching of eggs should be checked continuously. When nymph activity is found, the branches and fine sand can be placed in the breeding site.

The breeding time is generally from September to October (two-year eggs) or from June to July (single-year eggs). Dig a regular narrow trench about 30 to 50 cm deep, such as a ring, square, triangle, parallel or radial shape, for later digging and harvesting. After breeding, cover the soil and compact it, and keep a record of the time, quantity, breeding trench shape and depth.

Providing growth conditions

Choose healthy tree species with well-developed lateral root systems, lush growth, and more juice, such as poplar, elm, willow, or various fruit trees in the orchard (preferably fruit trees). In addition, intercrop some root and tuber plants, such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, and yams. The depth of grasshoppers should be 30 to 50 cm. They should be sunny and frost-proof. The soil should be soft, fertile, and pollution-free. It should not be too dry, nor should it have too high water content or water accumulation. To ensure the normal growth and development of the host plant root system, the young and tender plants should be well developed and juicy. In winter, wheat straw, rice straw, corn stalks, etc. should be covered in the breeding area to maintain the ground temperature.

Building production facilities

In addition to collecting locust eggs naturally, a gauze greenhouse can be built to provide space for adults to lay eggs. Fruit trees in abandoned orchards can be used to replant fruit tree seedlings, and cement or bamboo sticks can be used to build fences around them, with iron wires in the middle and nylon window screens on the outside. The adults that have emerged or been collected can mate and lay eggs in them, and the number of adults can be retained as needed, without having to collect seed sources from the wild.

Harvest

The best season for field harvesting is from mid-to-late June (around the summer solstice) to early August (around the beginning of autumn). The most concentrated season is in early July or after rain. The nymphs (cicada turtles) dig holes in the soft and wet ground with a pair of saw-toothed front feet. After crawling out of the ground, they move for a short time on the ground. Then they climb along the tree trunks or trellises to prepare for molting. They emerge as adult cicadas at 4 to 6 in the morning of the next day. You can use a flashlight to illuminate and catch them on the ground and trunks under the trees at night. Or you can catch the emerging young adult cicadas on the trees in the early morning.

3. Is it okay to raise golden cicadas?

How many years do cicadas live underground? Generally, they live for 3-5 years, and the longest lives for more than 10 years. Artificial breeding cannot change their ecological lifespan. Artificial hatching often causes the death of eggs, which is against common sense.

See for yourself