CATDOLL : CATDOLL: How cicadas lay their eggs and go underground

1. How do cicadas lay eggs and go underground?

The process of oviparous animals expelling eggs from the mother's body. Here, it refers to eggs in a broad sense, including fertilized eggs, unfertilized eggs, and early embryos wrapped in egg membranes. In order to expel eggs from the ovaries, most oviparous animals have oviducts, but some animals also expel eggs from the nephridia (e.g., polychaetes of annular animals) or the "mouth" (e.g., jellyfish). The spawning site is usually selected to be suitable for protecting eggs and larvae, conducive to hatching of larvae, and with sufficient food for larvae. For example, some animals lay eggs in certain parts of other animals or plants. There are also nests for laying eggs and raising young. The end of the oviduct of some fish, insects, etc. protrudes outside the body to form an ovipositor, which is suitable for laying eggs. If aquatic animals only release eggs into the water, it can also be called ovulation.

The larvae live in the soil, sucking the roots of plants, and after living underground for 4 years, they will drill out of the ground and show off their talents for a while. The adults only suck the juice of plants.

The life of a cicada goes through three different stages: egg, larva, and adult. The eggs are laid on trees, the larvae live underground, and the adults return to the trees. After mating, the male cicada completes its mission and dies soon. The female cicada begins to lay eggs. It uses its sharp ovipositor to pierce small holes on the branches, laying four to eight eggs at a time. It often pierces dozens of holes on a branch. Then the female cicada stops eating and drinking and dies soon. The eggs overwinter in the branches, and the larvae hatch in the summer of the following year with the help of the warmth of the sun.

2. How long does it take for cicadas to start breeding in the forest?

More than four years, because the growth period is three years.

3. Why do cicadas keep chirping?

Cicadas chirp non-stop to seek mates. Adult cicadas have a very short lifespan. In order to find a mate and reproduce within a limited time, male cicadas have to chirp with all their might to win the favor of female cicadas, and then end their lives after mating.

Because the life of a cicada is very short, it keeps chirping in order to seek a mate. Only male cicadas can chirp, and female cicadas cannot. The chirping of cicadas is also affected by the weather. The hotter it is, the louder the chirping. They will also chirp after being frightened. Cicadas can only live for about a month, so they keep chirping in order to reproduce. The life span of adult cicadas is very short. In order to find a mate and reproduce in a limited time, male cicadas have to chirp as hard as they can to win the favor of female cicadas, and then end their lives after mating.

The cicadas that disturb people's sweet dreams are all male cicadas with complete sound organs. Female cicadas do not sing because their sound organs are not fully developed. The sound organ on the abdomen of male cicadas is very similar to a drum, which will make sounds when vibrated. Its sound muscle can expand and contract about 10,000 times per second. The space between the cover and the eardrum can also play a role of resonance, so the cicada's call is particularly loud.

Female cicadas can roughly understand whether the owner of the voice is healthy and capable of reproduction through their chirping. After some consideration, female cicadas will fly to the guy they like and complete mating.

4. Do cicadas lay eggs?

Yes. Oviparous.

Every year from June to July, they will transform from pupae into adults and lay eggs in just a few days. From eggs to the process of nymphs living underground, until the last molting to become adults, singing loudly on trees, this period of time usually takes one to two years. Among cicadas, their larvae are also called "nymphs". Their male cicadas will make sounds to attract female cicadas to mate with them. They use their pointed ovipositors to insert eggs into trees. The larvae will not hatch until the second year. They will live in the soil for several years or even more than ten years before breaking out of the soil. In their long life, they have to go through many moltings. The last molting is when they become adults. When they become adults, they will make sounds. The sound made by male cicadas is a high frequency of hundreds of times per second, constantly vibrating the two tympanic membranes located in the abdomen to make sharp and loud sounds. This sound helps female cicadas determine the location of male cicadas suitable for mating.

5. Recently, many people here have been catching cicadas. How do cicada larvae reproduce?

They make cocoons on trees, fall to the ground in winter, and after a few years they break out of their cocoons and climb back up the trees.

6. Under what trees and in what temperature of soil are cicadas most likely to survive, reproduce and emerge?

Do you want to raise it?

Cicada eggs are collected in sunny weather. Female cicadas mostly lay eggs on the branches of willow and apple trees with lush green leaves. They especially like to lay eggs on white willow branches. The branches will wither on their own in 3 to 10 days after laying eggs. If you observe carefully, you will see granular eggs attached to the withered branches. You can pick the withered branches by hand to make seedlings to hatch the cicada nymphs. There are about 50 to 100 cicada eggs in an egg branch. 2-3 egg branches can be buried per square meter.

The site for burying the egg branches should be selected in the willow forest, old apple orchard and river beach with white willow branches. The soil should be loose and moist loam without sand, compaction, ants and moles. You can also choose the place where there were many cicada monkeys last year as the site for burying the egg branches.

To bury the egg branches, you can dig white willow seedlings by the river or in moist land, plant them in loose loam, with a spacing of 35 cm between plants and 90 cm between rows, and plant 2,300 plants per 667 m2. Dig a 3 cm deep trench between two rows of white willow branches, bury the egg branches and cover them with 3 cm of soil; you can also dig a 3 cm deep trench 2 meters away from the main trunk in poplar forests and old apple orchards, bury the egg branches, and cover them with flat soil and tamp them down. Feeding and management After the cicada eggs are buried underground, pay attention to drainage and waterlogging prevention in the rainy season. Water the white willow branches, poplar trees or apple trees on dry days. While watering, apply farmyard manure to promote luxuriant growth, provide sufficient nutrition sources for the cicada larvae, the young cicada monkeys, so that the young cicada monkeys grow vigorously, increase their size, and increase production. Strictly prevent trampling by humans and animals and the invasion of natural enemies such as ants and moles.

Harvesting and processing After burying the egg branches for 2-3 years, the cicada monkeys begin to grow and mature gradually. The harvesting period is generally at the summer solstice every year. If there is a heavy rain, the fat and strong cicada monkeys will start to drill out of the ground at 4-5 in the morning, or after the rain, the cicada monkeys will drill out of the ground at any time, and quickly find willow branches or tree trunks to crawl up. After 2-4 hours, they will shed their skin and become cicadas (cicadas). According to this characteristic of cicada monkeys, after the summer solstice every year, if there is no rain and drought, the feeding site can be artificially irrigated to induce the cicada monkeys to come out of the ground. Before the cicada monkeys come out of the ground, or before the cicada monkeys mature, a circle of smooth plastic film can be tied around the tree trunk 30 cm above the ground to prevent the cicada monkeys from continuing to crawl up, so as to facilitate harvesting.