CATDOLL : CATDOLL:What is a cicada?

What is a golden cicada?

The golden cicada is a representative species of the Cicadidae family. Its larvae are called differently in different places. Cicada turtle, cicada monkey, old turtle, hunchback, climbing black grasshopper cicada, thumb-climbing cicada, child-eating child, old and young dog, climbing fork, and beef cattle are all its names.

Golden cicadas are rich in nutrients and have high medicinal value. The skin of golden cicadas is a traditional Chinese medicine, and the idiom "golden cicada sheds its shell" also comes from it. Although the cicada's living territory is getting smaller and smaller, the number of golden cicadas in nature has not decreased significantly; now in order to meet market demand, some people have used artificial breeding methods to obtain it.

In recent years, the phenomenon of catching cicadas for catering has been very serious in Shandong, Shanxi, Henan, Hebei, Anhui and other places in my country. Since cicada larvae can survive underground for about 5-12 years before breaking out of the ground, such crazy catching has caused the number of cicadas to drop sharply. In some areas, the sound of cicadas can no longer be heard in summer. Cicadas are facing a survival crisis and may even become extinct.

In summer, many people in rural areas catch cicadas to eat. So, are cicadas pests or beneficial insects?

In fact, many people in the countryside have the experience of catching cicadas at night. Especially in the hotter weather, you can catch more. In the summer nights, after eating early, go to a place with trees with your friends to catch them. Sometimes you are afraid that you will be too late and be caught by others first.

In fact, everything has two sides

The existence of any living thing plays a vital role in the ecological chain, and the same is true for the cicada. The cicada specializes in absorbing tree sap for a living. The larvae hide in the roots of trees and rely on absorbing nutrients from the roots to grow. From the perspective of trees, cicadas are naturally pests.

The autumn season is sad, and it is also the season for cicadas to lay eggs. Cicadas will use the sharp spines on their abdomens to inject eggs into the branches of some trees. In fact, it is very easy to identify them by careful observation. Observe the branches and treetops of some trees where cicadas often appear. Some branches are obviously wilted and dry. These branches have been injected with cicada eggs. Cicadas do not have a big impact on some larger trees. Although some branches will be lost, for large trees with huge crowns, this damage is insignificant. These branches with eggs are also specially collected by some people for use in artificial breeding.

Although cicadas are harmful to trees to a certain extent, according to this argument, cicadas are indeed pests, but they also have their own value, that is, their contribution to the ecology. Cicadas are also a source of food for many other birds and small animals. In the maintenance of the ecological chain system, cicadas also play a certain role. The lack of a certain link will actually affect the entire chain, but many times this change is very subtle and not obvious, and we rarely notice it.

Cicadas are pests

Beneficial insects are insects that are beneficial to humans, while pests are insects that are harmful to humans. However, people often first identify beneficial insects and pests from the perspective of agricultural production. Since food is the primary need of the people, those that harm agriculture are naturally pests, and those that are beneficial to agriculture are naturally beneficial insects.

Cicadas harm trees throughout their lives, and are particularly harmful to fruit trees. The adult cicada has a long needle in its mouth that pierces directly into tree trunks and branches to suck the sap of plants. The branches sucked by it often dry up due to loss of moisture. After mating, the female cicada uses its sharp ovipositor to insert into young branches to lay eggs, and many branches are often pierced with many small holes. What most people don't know is that after the cicada lays its eggs on the branch, it will use its mouthparts to pierce the lower part of the branch, so that the upper part of the branch cannot get water and nutrients, slowly withers, and then falls to the ground with the wind.

The eggs laid by cicadas hatch into nymphs, which then burrow into the soil and begin a long underground life for several years. They do not sleep underground, but feed on the sap of tree roots and grow slowly. When they have grown up enough underground, they will crawl out of the ground when the soil is moist and soft after rain, and "shed their shells" on small branches or tree trunks, becoming cicadas and continuing to cause harm on trees.

The golden cicadas in rural areas are also constantly being sought after by people.

They have also entered the hotel tables, and the price is getting higher and higher. Some farmers have even made catching golden cicadas into an industry in the summer. It is said that a farmer can make a lot of money by catching golden cicadas in one summer, which has also led to a decrease in the number of golden cicadas.

However, the possibility of the golden cicada's extinction exists and is becoming more and more serious. The main reason is that the golden cicada has a long life cycle. It takes 3-7 years from laying eggs to maturity before it can emerge from the ground. In addition, due to factors such as large-scale capture by humans, the use of pesticides and herbicides, large-scale deforestation, and air pollution, the golden cicada is indeed becoming less and less.

Pests that specialize in sucking the sap of trees. Their larvae often live at the roots of trees, seriously endangering the health of large trees.

Hello, the cicada does not meet the standard of pests at all. The cicada only has an impact on plants, but the impact is very small. The cicada has both edible value and medicinal value. The meat of the cicada is very good, and the shell shed by the cicada has medicinal value.

The cicada can be considered a pest because its larvae and adults feed on sap from trees. Moreover, it inserts its ovipositor into trees to lay eggs. If the cicada appears in large numbers, it may harm a large number of trees and hinder normal human activities. However, since it rarely appears now, the harm to the forest is already very small.