CATDOLL : CATDOLL: How to keep cicada alive (How to keep cicada alive)

1. How to plant and manage cicadas?

1. Hatching: The cicada eggs collected from the wild or farms should be hatched in the city. The hatching temperature of cicada eggs is 30~35, so it is necessary to build a special hatching and insulation room (when the temperature is high in June, the insulation room is not needed). Cover the hatching box with a 5~10 cm thick layer of fine sand, and use a spraying equipment to continuously spray water mist around the branches to keep the surrounding air in a high humidity state.

2. Loosen the soil in the orchard. Use a rotary tiller to deep plow the land under the orchard or woods, then wet it with water. After the soil absorbs the water, the ground will become dry and cracked, making it easier for the cicada larvae to crawl into the underground through the cracks and live.

3. After the cicada eggs hatch, you can put branches and fine sand into the breeding place, allowing the cicada larvae to crawl into the ground through the cracks and grow.

4. Open drainage ditches. After the cicada larvae enter the ground, if it is in a relatively humid environment, they are likely to die, so it is necessary to open drainage ditches to drain rainwater in time. In addition, if the site is too dry, it should also be kept wet to prevent the death of the cicada.

5. Build an anti-escape net. You can use bamboo sticks and nylon screen cloth to build a simple sky net to prevent the cicadas from escaping after metamorphosis.

6. Insulation. In winter, a layer of straw should be covered on the land where cicadas are raised. This can not only keep the land warm but also keep it moist, which is conducive to the safe overwintering of cicadas.

2. What is the most effective way to raise cicadas?

1. Breeding base

Cicadas are mainly bred under forests. Their growth needs can be met under various fruit trees and timber trees. Generally, fruit trees over three years old and other trees can be used as breeding places for cicadas. This type of wood contains more juice and is very suitable.

2. Collecting eggs

After collecting the branches with cicada eggs, remove the dry leaves, cut off the two ends, and bundle thirty branches into a bundle. Spread a layer of sand on the bottom of a large washing basin, and put the bundled branches upright in the basin. Keep the temperature at 28-34 degrees Celsius and the humidity at 60%. Spray it when it is dry. Use a sprayer to spray the branches until they are thoroughly wet.

3. Incubate

The larvae will hatch in about fifteen days. During the hatching period, the eggs of the cicada should be checked continuously. If a small number of cicada larvae are found active, the branches and fine sand can be placed in the breeding place and buried with soil.

4. Breeding environment

In the process of breeding cicadas, it is necessary to maintain suitable temperature and humidity, especially in the hot summer season. Ventilation and moisture retention are required to prevent the cicada's shell from drying out and cracking. In winter, incense should be burned in the garden to prevent the cicada from suffering from frost damage.

3. 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.

4. How to breed cicadas?

The number of cicadas in nature has also been greatly reduced. In order to meet market demand, cicadas are now artificially bred.

Prepare cicadas. To grow cicadas, you must have cicadas. Choose healthy cicadas and select the quantity according to your needs.

Density management. After a certain period of time, cicadas will lay eggs, so they need to be density-managed. There should be 500 females and 500 males per acre. When the cicada grows into a pupa, it will be invaded by grass, and then mycelium will grow in its body.

Light. The cicada flower likes an environment with sufficient direct sunlight, and at the same time, a high humidity must be maintained. Wait until the cicada becomes a pupa and the grass invades.

Nutrients. In the beginning of its growth, the cicada flower absorbs nutrients from the cicada until all of them are absorbed. In spring, the cicada flower will break through the soil, and then it will rely on external nutrients. Appropriate fertilizers should be applied to ensure that the cicada flower blooms normally.

Prevent diseases and insect pests. After the cicada flowers emerge from the ground, they are likely to attract ants and small red flower ants. At this time, you should use appropriate pesticides to spray and kill them in time.

5. What is the best way to raise cicadas?

1. Selecting and breeding trees

The growth of cicadas is inseparable from trees, so it is necessary to select dwarfing breeding trees, prune high branches in time, plant fruit tree seedlings between trees, and increase the branches for cicadas to lay eggs.

2. Construction of breeding greenhouse

When the cicada is about to emerge from the ground, a breeding greenhouse is built on a plot of land with convenient irrigation and drainage. Cement pillars or bamboo sticks are used to build a fence around the breeding area. Bamboo poles are used to build a frame in the middle and then iron wire is used to secure it. Nylon window screen is covered on the outside.