CATDOLL : CATDOLL: Requirements for grasshopper breeding conditions (What are the requirements for grasshopper breeding conditions)

1. What kind of soil is needed to raise grasshoppers?

Grasshoppers have the habit of flying, so they must be raised in a shed. The breeding shed should be built in a ventilated and sunny place, and the ground should be 10 cm higher than the surrounding ground for drainage. It is best to use sandy loam that is not easy to clump, so as to facilitate the picking of grasshopper eggs. Monocotyledonous plants such as wheat or corn should be planted in the breeding shed for grasshoppers to eat. Every 10,000 grasshoppers requires an area of ​​15 square meters. You can use the vacant space inside and outside the yard to build the shed support with angle irons or wooden sticks, bamboo poles, bamboo strips, etc. According to the size of the shed, use a gauze to make a shed cover, bury the bottom edge in the ground, and leave a door. Install a zipper at the door to prevent the grasshoppers from escaping.

The height of the shed is 1.5 to 2 meters, and the outside of the shed can be covered with plastic film to prevent rain and keep warm. The shed must be built before the end of April.

2. What are some basic requirements and techniques for raising grasshoppers?

1. Site selection

It is best to choose a place with good ventilation and plenty of sunlight.

2. Eliminate natural enemies

Before building a shed, you should first use methods such as capturing, trapping, and scalding to eliminate all ants, mole crickets, etc. on the ground. Because the above animals are the natural enemies of locusts, they can prey on locusts and destroy locust eggs, so these animals must not be allowed to exist in the shed.

3. Ground

The floor of the shed should be 10-15 cm 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 laying eggs and collecting eggs. The soil should not be too soft, as locusts have high requirements for laying eggs.

4. Density

The area of ​​the shed depends on the number of locusts, and generally 600-800 adult locusts can be raised per square meter.

5. Build a shed

According to your own conditions, you can use sticks and bamboo strips to build a shed frame. Then, according to the size of the shed, use gauze 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 press a zipper on the door. This is to prevent locusts from escaping and facilitate feeding and management in the shed.

The height of the shed can be 1.5-2 meters. In order to keep warm or prevent rain, plastic sheets can be covered outside the shed. When the temperature is high and the locusts are large (more than three instars), they are not afraid of rain, so plastic sheets 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.

Grasshopper habits:

1. Incubation

The minimum temperature for hatching eggs is 17 degrees Celsius, the suitable temperature for development is between 26-32 degrees Celsius, and the highest hatching rate is when the soil moisture content is 18-22%. It usually takes 50-60 minutes for the entire egg mass to hatch from the beginning to the end, and the maximum hatching time is from 8 am to 1 pm. There are also differences in the order of emergence during the hatching process.

2. Shedding

Grasshoppers grow by molting. When they grow to a certain length and need to molt, they stop eating. Hang their bodies upside down and molt (with something to attach to). You can eat them after one hour. Locust larvae molt once every 5-7 days after they lay eggs. Strong ones molt quickly, while weak ones molt slowly. One molt is one age. From hatching to adulthood, they need to molt five times before they can become adults.

3. Social nature

First-instar nymphs often gather on plants, while second-instar nymphs prefer to gather on bare ground. The older they are, the more obvious their aggregation becomes. At first, they are small groups, but later they become large groups, crowded and overlapping with each other, and even piled up to several inches high.

4. Migration

Grasshoppers migrate not only for food, but also for the needs of reproductive physiological development. Migration can increase appetite, especially migration from eclosion to egg laying, which can increase the number and quality of eggs. Therefore, locusts should be properly disturbed after egg laying and before egg laying, so that they can fly in the shed to increase the number and quality of eggs.

3. What is needed to raise grasshoppers?

Grasshopper Farming Preparation and Management Techniques

1. Preliminary preparations for raising grasshoppers

To raise grasshoppers, you need to build a breeding shed. It is advisable to choose a ventilated and sunny place, such as the front and back of the house, an idle courtyard, or a plot of land. The ground of the breeding shed should be 10-15 cm higher than the surrounding ground to facilitate drainage in the rainy season. The shed can be built with bamboo strips, bamboo poles, wooden sticks, etc. as supports, and then use gauze to make a greenhouse-like shed cover, bury the bottom edge in the ground, leave a door, install a zipper on the door or stick it with adhesive strips. The height of the shed is 1.5-2 meters, and it must be built by the end of April. The area of ​​the shed depends on the number of grasshoppers. Generally, 600-800 adults can be raised per square meter. At first, 15 square meters are enough to raise 10,000 grasshoppers. Each female locust can lay 60-90 eggs. As the number of grasshoppers increases, continue to expand the shed. After the breeding shed is built, dense wheat is planted on the ground inside the shed to prepare for the young locusts to eat.

2. Grasshopper Management

First, prepare non-toxic soil. Mix new sawdust and soil in a ratio of 2:1. The water content is 20%-30%. Spread 3-5 cm thick soil on the utensils or wooden boards, and then evenly spread the purchased grasshopper eggs on it. Cover the eggs with about 1 cm thick soil. After 10-15 days of incubation, all the grasshoppers will hatch around May Day. After the young locusts hatch, they shed their skin once every 7 days. Each shed is one age. After 5 sheds, they become adults. After another 50 days, the adults can be sold (260-340 grasshoppers per kilogram) or kept for seed and egg laying. During the 1st to 3rd age, the larvae eat very little. After 35 days, when they become adults, their food intake doubles. In addition to collecting some wild weeds for feeding, they can also cut artificially planted Mexican corn grass for feeding.

Grasshopper farming preparation and management techniques (2)

3. Precautions for breeding grasshoppers

1. Grasshoppers feed between 9 am and 5 pm, 2-3 times a day. When feeding grasshoppers, spread the fodder evenly in the shed.

2. The breeding shed should be properly covered in rainy weather, because if the ground is too wet, the grasshoppers will not eat and will die.

3. The breeding density should be 600-800 per square meter. If the breeding is too dense, the strong will eat the weak, the big will eat the small, or the ones that are molting will be cannibalized by those that molted earlier.

4. When the temperature in summer is above 35℃, shade the breeding shed and sprinkle some water on the gauze or in the shed to supply moisture. If the shed is too dry, it will also cause the grasshoppers to die.

5. If grasshoppers eat poisonous grass, they will die immediately. So if you don't know whether the grass is poisonous, it is best to wash it before feeding it.

6. The life cycle of grasshoppers is 75 days. Female grasshoppers will die normally after laying eggs, and male grasshoppers will also die normally after mating.