CATDOLL : CATDOLL: How to raise locusts?

1. Introduction to East Asian Migratory Locust The East Asian Migratory Locust belongs to the class Insecta, order Orthoptera, family Acrididae. According to statistics, there are 223 genera and 859 species in the superfamily Acridoidea. It is one of the better varieties of locusts. The East Asian Migratory Locust grows under natural temperature conditions, with two generations a year. The first generation is called summer locust and the second generation is autumn locust. Migratory locusts have six legs, divided into three parts: head, thorax and abdomen. There are two pairs of wings on the thorax, the forewings are keratinous, and the hindwings are membranous. The body is yellowish brown, and the male is bright yellow during the mating period. The female locust is 39.5 to 51.2 mm long. The male locust is 33.0 to 41.5 mm long. After becoming an adult, it is good at jumping and flying. The East Asian Migratory Locust has a sturdy body, a wide range of feeding, and strong adaptability. After hatching into a young locust, it can become an adult after 35 days of feeding, and can be sold after being fattened for about 50 days, so the time is short and the return is fast. Raising 10,000 adult East Asian migratory locusts can produce 40 jin. At the current market price of 15 to 25 yuan per jin, the economic benefits are considerable, and the seeds only need to be purchased once. The locusts can reproduce dozens of times by themselves, and the eggs hatch locusts, and the locusts lay eggs, and the cycle repeats. After years of breeding, they can be sold continuously. A female locust can lay 35 to 90 eggs at a time. The reason why migratory locusts are popular is that they are soft, tender, and nutritious. According to expert analysis and determination, their protein content is as high as 74.88%, fat content is 5.25%, carbohydrate content is 4.77%, and it contains 18 kinds of amino acids and a variety of active substances. 2. Breeding and management of East Asian migratory locusts 1. Construction of locust breeding sheds and preparation of sheds Before building the shed, first eliminate the ants and mole crickets on the ground by catching, trapping, and scalding. The above animals are natural enemies of locusts and can prey on locusts and destroy locust eggs, so these animals must not be allowed to exist in the shed. The floor of the shed should be 10 to 15 centimeters higher than the surrounding ground to facilitate drainage in the rainy season. Sandy loam is the best soil, which is not easy to clump and is convenient for egg laying and egg collection. Wheat and other single-leaf crops are planted on the ground of the shed to prepare for the young locusts to eat. The construction area of ​​the shed should be determined according to the number of locusts to be raised. If you raise 10,000 locusts, 15 square meters is enough. You can use the vacant space inside and outside the yard. According to your own conditions, you can use iron, big sticks, and bamboo strips to build a shed support. According to the size of the shed, use cold cloth to make a shed cover like a mosquito net, hang it on the shed, bury the bottom edge in the ground, leave a door, and install a zipper on the door. This device is to prevent locusts from running out and facilitate feeding and management in the shed. The height of the shed can be 1.5 to 2 meters. In order to keep warm or prevent rain, plastic cloth can be covered outside the shed. When the temperature is high and the locusts are large (more than three years old), they are not afraid of rain, so plastic cloth can be omitted. If natural conditions are used to breed migratory locusts, the construction of the shed must be completed before the end of April. It is better to choose a place with plenty of sunshine. 2. Hatching and management of locust eggs When the temperature reaches 25-30℃, they can hatch. The natural temperature will reach in early May. First, prepare non-toxic soil, sawdust 2:1, water content 10-15%, spread in a 2-3 cm container, spread the locust eggs evenly on the soil, cover the eggs with about 1 cm thick soil, and then put a film on the container. Check once every half a day. After finding the young locusts, use a soft brush to move the young locusts to the food in the shed. After 12-15 days of hatching, all the young locusts are hatched. Young locusts like to eat fresh wheat seedlings, corn seedlings, weeds and other monocots, but they eat very little. Young locusts from 1 to 3 years old should be protected from rain. The temperature should be controlled between 25 and 30℃, the light should be more than 12 hours, and the humidity should be kept at about 15%, because under such conditions, locusts are most active, like to eat, and are conducive to growth. Three-year-old locusts like to live in groups. 3. Feeding and management of locusts from the third instar to adults. Young locusts shed their skin once every 5 to 7 days after laying eggs. Each shed is one instar. Strong ones shed quickly, weak ones shed slowly, and there are also differences in the order of emergence during the hatching process. Locusts from the third instar fly very fast and their appetite gradually increases. At this time, it is necessary to ensure that there is sufficient food in the shed. First of all, if the locusts are not full, it will affect their normal growth. In addition, there will be a phenomenon of strong eating weak and big eating small, especially the locusts that are molting cannot move, and their physique is very soft, so there is a risk of being eaten and bitten. Wheat bran can be added to locusts from the third instar. Clean the shed once every 1 to 2 days to keep the shed clean. After the locusts shed five times, they grow into adults. This time is around June 15. Migratory locusts generally enter the sexual maturity period 10 to 15 days after emergence and begin to mate. At this time, the migratory locusts are very fat and strong. Except for some locusts that lay eggs, the other locusts can be sold in the market. The time is preferably in early July. 4. Management before and after locust laying eggs After mating, the abdomen of female locusts gradually becomes thicker and longer, and the yellow-brown color deepens, while the male locusts are bright yellow. At this time, the ground of the shed should be neat and compacted to facilitate the laying of eggs by female locusts. If there are few large locusts in the shed, in order to concentrate the laying of eggs and facilitate the egg collection in the future, part of the ground in the shed can be covered with plastic cloth, leaving only part of the ground facing the sun as the laying area. The humidity in the shed is maintained at about 15%. At this time, the locusts have a large appetite and should be carefully provided. Female locusts begin to lay eggs around July 10. The ovipositor of female locusts is short and curved, with two pairs of hard chisel-shaped ovipositors, which are used to drill holes in the soil to lay eggs. While laying eggs, a gelatinous liquid is secreted. After solidification, a water-resistant protective layer is formed outside the eggs, surrounding the eggs into an egg mass, which protects the eggs from wintering. The egg mass of the East Asian migratory locust is brown, slightly cylindrical, slightly curved in the middle, and generally 40 to 70 mm long. Each locust egg has 35 to 90 eggs, and there are very few that have more than 100 eggs. This is a summer locust. The eggs are laid in the soil in the shed and are used to hatch the eggs of the second generation of "autumn locusts". They can be left untouched in the shed. When the temperature, humidity, light and other conditions meet the hatching conditions, the second generation of autumn locusts will naturally emerge from the soil, around July 20-25. The eggs that are ready for sale or not used for the second generation should be taken out in time. Use soil with a humidity of 10% to 15%, one layer of soil and one layer of eggs, and the last layer of soil. Put them in a large canning bottle, seal the bottle mouth, and store them in a refrigerator at 5 degrees. The feeding conditions before and after egg laying are basically the same as those of locusts above the third instar. The difference is that the light should reach 16 hours a day, and the feed should be sufficient and more concentrated feed should be added. 3. Wintering management of locust eggs Wintering of locust eggs is very simple. We can let the locust eggs in the shed overwinter in place. After winter, cover the locust egg-laying area with some weeds to keep warm. 4. Locusts' likes and dislikes of food and their natural enemies 1. The East Asian migratory locust has a wide range of food, just like feeding sheep. It likes to eat: reeds, thatch, pennisetum, thread grass, coil grass, etc. Gramineae: corn, wheat, sorghum, millet, etc., plants that migratory locusts do not like to eat. 2. When collecting food for migratory locusts, be very careful to avoid using food with pesticides. If you are not sure about the collected food, you can wash it in water before feeding it. Another thing to note and remind is that the seed source for beginners can be purchased from farms or breeders, and either grasshoppers or eggs can be introduced. Special reminder: Grasshoppers are special breeding, and breeding should be cautious when there are no orders and reliable sales channels.