CATDOLL : CATDOLL: Is there anything about raising golden cicadas? Zhihu article (What are the benefits of raising golden cicadas)

1. Is there anything special about raising cicadas?

Cicadas must be raised in the woods, with the ground kept soft to prevent ants and birds from eating them.

2. How to breed, plant and manage cicadas?

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Selective breeding of trees

Dwarf fruit trees such as apricot trees, peach trees, apple trees or other dwarf shrubs are good trees for cicada breeding. Pay attention to timely pruning of high branches to facilitate breeding and management; interplant fruit tree seedlings between trees to increase the branches for cicada egg laying; plant cicada eggs under the trees, refer to the "Cicada Breeding Technology" for methods.

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Building a breeding greenhouse

Before the cicadas are about to emerge, build breeding greenhouses, with an area of ​​1 mu each. Use cement columns or bamboo sticks to build fences around the breeding area, with a row spacing of 5 meters. Use bamboo poles to build a frame in the middle, and then pull iron wire to fix it, and then cover it with nylon window screens. For breeding, choose high and dry land with convenient drainage and irrigation. Avoid building breeding greenhouses in low-lying land that is prone to water accumulation.

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Pest management and epidemic prevention

After the cicadas emerge from the ground, they have a strong tendency to move toward light. In the early stage, they should be allowed to enter the greenhouse after they have emerged from the molts. When catching them, they will fly around and bump into the light, causing the death of the seed insects. Therefore, all the cicadas that have emerged from the ground within the first week can be caught, and they can be allowed to naturally emerge and lay eggs after one week. The seed density is about 10,000 per mu, with males and females accounting for about 50% each. Each female cicada can lay 500 to 1,500 eggs. Each greenhouse can provide seeds for the reproduction of cicadas on about 20 mu of land.

About 20 days after the cicadas emerge from their pupae, they can mate and lay eggs. When laying eggs, the cicadas pierce the epidermis of the branches and lay their eggs in the wood. During the mating and egg-laying period, try not to walk around or make noise in the greenhouse to avoid adverse effects on the cicadas.

Since there are many natural enemies of nymphs (cicada turtles) after they emerge from the soil and adults after they emerge from the shells, such as toads, sparrows and mantises, protection work should be done in the greenhouse. In addition, the gauze nets should be checked frequently to prevent the cicadas from escaping.

Microorganisms such as Beauveria bassiana, Metarhizium anisopliae and Entomogenetic algae (cicadae) can cause parasitic damage to cicadas, so protection should be strengthened during breeding. During the period when mature nymphs emerge from the soil, eggs under trees and cicada ants occur, the main natural enemies of cicadas are ants and red flower bugs, so they must be strictly prevented. Strong ammonia can be used for soil treatment.

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Feed supply

Choose healthy tree species with well-developed root systems, lush growth, and more sap, such as poplar, elm, willow, tung, or various fruit trees in the orchard. In addition, intercrop some root and tuber plants, such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, and yams.

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Environmental conditions

The appropriate depth for the "breeding" of cicadas is 30 to 50 centimeters. 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 much water or water accumulation. This ensures that the root system of the host plant grows and develops normally, and that the young plants are tender, developed, and juicy. In winter, the breeding area should be covered with wheat straw, rice straw, corn straw, etc. to maintain the ground temperature.

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Epidemic prevention preparation

There are many natural enemies of nymphs (cicada turtles) after they emerge from the soil and adults after they emerge from their shells, such as toads, snakes, mice, hedgehogs, wild cats, sparrows and mantises, which all like to eat nymphs (cicada turtles). Microorganisms such as Beauveria bassiana, Metarhizium anisopliae and Entomogenetic algae fungi (Cicada fungus) also cause harm. In addition, floods and pollution from pesticides and fertilizers are also harmful to nymphs (cicada turtles) or cicadas.

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Breeding technology

In addition to collecting cicada eggs naturally, we can build gauze greenhouses to provide space for cicada adults to lay eggs. We can use the fruit trees in abandoned orchards to replant fruit tree seedlings, build fences around them with cement columns or bamboo sticks, and then stretch iron wires in the middle, and cover them with nylon window screens. The emerged or collected adults 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.

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The planting time of cicada

Planting time is generally from May to July or from September to October. Dig regular narrow trenches about 10 to 30 cm deep about 1 meter away from the base of the trunk, such as ring, square, triangle, parallel or radial shapes, for the purpose of later digging and harvesting. Cover the soil and compact it after "planting", and keep records of the time, quantity, "planting" trench shape and depth. It should be sunny and frost-proof, with soft, fertile and pollution-free soil; 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, and the young plants should be tender, developed and juicy. In winter, wheat straw, rice straw, corn straw, etc. should be covered in the planting area to maintain the ground temperature.

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Harvesting Golden Cicadas

After burying the egg branches for 2-3 years, the cicadas begin to grow and mature gradually. The harvesting period is generally during the summer solstice every year. If there is a heavy rain, the fat and strong nymphs will start to drill out of the ground at 4-5 am, or after the rain, the nymphs will dig a hole in the soft ground with a pair of saw-like front feet. After crawling out of the ground, they will do a short exercise on the ground, and then climb the tree trunk or trellis to prepare to shed their shells. After 2-4 hours, they will shed their skin and become cicadas (cicadas). According to this characteristic of the golden cicada, after the summer solstice every year, if there is no rain and drought, the breeding site can be artificially irrigated to induce the cicadas to emerge. Before the cicadas emerge, or before the cicadas mature, a circle of smooth plastic film can be tied around the tree trunk 30 cm above the ground to prevent the cicadas from continuing to crawl up the tree for easy harvesting. You can also use a flashlight to illuminate and catch them on the ground and tree trunks under the tree at night. Or catch the young adult cicadas on the tree in the early morning.

Precautions

The most important seasons are the egg stage on trees, the occurrence of cicada ants, and the emergence of mature nymphs. The natural enemies of the egg stage on trees and the occurrence of cicada ants are mainly ants and red flower bugs. The treatment measures are to use 100 times the solution of strong ammonia to wash the egg-bearing branches or DDVP, strong chlorine, etc. to treat the soil.

3. What are the ten taboos of raising cicadas?

1. Prevent flooding. Cicadas are afraid of flooding but not drought. During the breeding period, the area in the forest should be careful to prevent water accumulation and long-term over-humidity to prevent the nymphs from dying due to lack of oxygen in the soil. Therefore, we should choose high and dry plots to plant trees and raise cicadas, and dig drainage ditches in advance in low-lying areas.

2. Watering during excessive drought If the soil is dry and hard for a long time, the tree will grow poorly and some of the small hairy roots will dry up. The food source of the cicada larvae will be affected, which will affect the survival of the cicada. Although the cicada will not die as long as the tree does not die of drought, the cicada will not be strong if the tree is not vigorous. The growth of the tree and the development of the cicada will be affected, which will also reduce the benefits. Therefore, we should also water appropriately when we see drought. Although drought is very rare, it is best to choose a plot that is easy to irrigate for raising cicadas.

3. Manual weeding: When grass grows under trees, try to use manual weeding. Try not to use herbicides, ammonium fertilizers, and systemic highly toxic pesticides.

4. Do not loosen the soil after planting. Do not loosen the soil intentionally with a hoe or a tiller after planting. The first-instar larvae of the cicada are concentrated in the upper soil layer. Loosening the soil will directly damage the larvae of the cicada and reduce economic benefits.

5. Inspection and ant control. Inspect the cicada forest once a week to prevent accidental damage. Pay attention to the harm of natural enemies such as ants. Use drugs that are non-toxic or low-toxic to cicadas. Spray the drugs around the edges of the forest where there are many ants to form an anti-ant isolation belt. Spray the drugs again after each rain. This method was told to me by a friend who raises cicadas. It is very effective.

6. Planting crops in the forest Intercropping crops in the forest can increase soil moisture, maintain moisture and looseness, which is more conducive to the growth of cicadas and increases economic benefits.

7. Tips for high-yield management When managing cicada breeding, the most important thing for cicada farmers is how to get the highest yield. The basic condition for high-yield cicada breeding is to implement the technical points and details of each link such as branch quality, preservation, hatching, early preparation, breeding time and method, and later management into actual operation, so as to meet the optimal conditions for cicadas during wintering, hatching, and growth as much as possible. If the details are not done well, the yield will not be high. Learning this is very useful.

8. Cicadas are not usually raised in nurseries. It is not advisable to raise cicadas in tree nurseries, because the seedlings need to be dug up and sold every 1-3 years, and the cicadas may not be fully developed when the seedlings are dug up and sold. You can only dig out cicadas in advance and sell them. If the seedlings in the nursery are not transplanted, they can be raised.

9. Greenhouse breeding should be used comprehensively. Some people use plastic greenhouses to breed cicadas, because the high ground temperature will cause them to emerge earlier. The idle period of the greenhouse can be used to breed other animals or grow other crops to increase the comprehensive economic benefits.

10. You must use perennial plants to breed cicadas. Current technology requires trees or perennial plants with well-developed root systems to breed cicadas, which means that no matter where you breed them, it is difficult to breed them without trees or perennial herbs. Therefore, reports and technologies that claim that cicadas can be bred with artificial feed without trees or other perennial plants should be treated with caution.

Choose the right tree species. First of all, we need to choose tree species with well-developed and juicy root systems, such as poplars, willows, sycamores, elms, apples, pear trees, bamboo willows, etc. A well-developed root system will have more lateral roots, that is, the more roots the better, which is more beneficial for the survival of the cicada larvae and increases the probability of them finding roots underground.

4. What are the methods for breeding cicadas and what are the things to pay attention to?

When breeding cicadas, you can first build a gauze greenhouse to provide them with enough space for laying eggs or collect cicada eggs naturally. Of course, we can also adapt to local conditions, such as using fruit trees in abandoned orchards or directly replanting some fruit tree seedlings. Then build a large frame fence around it, mostly using bamboo sticks or concrete columns. Remember to pull some iron wire in the middle; then cover the outside with nylon window screen. Most of us will choose the best time to harvest cicada eggs in greenhouse breeding in mid- or late September.

When we choose trees for breeding cicadas, we mainly choose dwarfed fruit trees. For example, apple trees, apricot trees, peach trees, etc. There are also others, such as: shrub species seedlings are also suitable for their breeding space and environment. Of course, in order to allow cicadas to lay eggs better, we must trim the high branches of the fruit trees in time, so that it is more convenient for us to manage them. If we use the gaps between trees to plant fruit tree seedlings, this can increase the number of branches and eggs for them to lay eggs. Because most of them choose to lay eggs under the branches, we can use the new technology of breeding cicadas as a reference.

Most cicadas are very afraid of light after they emerge from the soil and become adults. So we can wait until they emerge from the molts before entering the greenhouse. Because when we catch them, they may fly around because of the strong light and visual stimulation, which may cause them to die in large numbers. So before catching them, we can wait for a week for all the cicadas that are about to emerge from the soil to let them naturally molt and lay eggs. However, the density of our seed is about 1,000 cicadas per acre, with half males and half females, because each female cicada can lay about 600 to 1,500 eggs, so each greenhouse can use about 20 acres of land for them to breed and lay eggs.

It is worth noting that when the cicadas are mating and laying eggs, we should try not to make loud noises near the greenhouse, so as to provide a better environment for the cicadas to ensure the quality and quantity of their eggs. We should avoid their bad influence. If they all emerge from the soil and become adults, they will grow wings, and the natural enemies of the cicadas will appear. For example, sparrows, mantises, toads, etc. Therefore, as farmers, we should frequently check whether there are any broken places in the gauze net, which can not only better prevent the cicadas from flying out of the greenhouse, but also reduce the damage to them by other animals.

In fact, the golden cicada is also called Zhiliao. It not only has delicious meat, but also has great medicinal functions when it falls off its shell. On the table, it is called "Tang Monk Meat". Just by hearing the name, you can know that its taste and nutritional value are very high and special, so breeding cicadas has become one of the most popular breeding projects in recent years.