Artificial Breeding Methods and Technical Key Points for Golden Cicadas
When it comes to the golden cicada, everyone also thinks of the idiom “golden cicada sheds its shell,” meaning to use a stratagem to escape so that others cannot discover it in time. This shows that the golden cicada is a very cunning and very clever insect. In fact, this understanding of the golden cicada is still far from enough; in many places the golden cicada is a very delicious dish.
How to artificially breed golden cicadas
Artificial breeding technology for golden cicadas. The cicada, Meimuna opalifera, is the representative species of the cicada family. The adult is also called the black cicada, and the nymph is commonly known as the cicada turtle. Many regions in China have the custom of eating Meimuna opalifera and its nymphs, especially prevalent in Shandong. The most common way to eat them is “fried golden cicada.” Cicada nymphs (cicada turtles) have extremely high medicinal-diet nutritional value and a unique taste, ranking among the best edible insects, and have now become a famous dish suitable for various occasions of different levels. However, due to environmental destruction and tree felling, the living environment of Meimuna opalifera and its nymphs (cicada turtles) has been severely damaged, causing the natural yield of nymphs (cicada turtles) to decline sharply year after year, and market prices have also risen year after year and remained high. Because social demand continues to increase, relying only on collection is far from enough to meet market requirements; under our guidance, many places have begun to shift from the method of collecting natural resources to artificial large-scale rearing.
Morphological characteristics of the golden cicada
Adult body length 40-48 mm, wingspan 125 mm. The whole body is black, glossy, and covered with metallic luster. Compound eyes are light reddish brown. There is a yellow-brown patch at the center of the front edge of the head and above each cheek. The mesonotum is broad, with a yellow-brown “X“-shaped elevation in the center. Forewings and hindwings are transparent. The front edge of the forewing is light yellow-brown, the base is black, the subcostal cell is black, the basal 1/3 of the forewing is black, the wing base cell is black, with a light yellow-brown spot; the basal 2/5 of the hindwing is black, and the veins are light yellow and dark black. Legs are light yellow-brown. Males have tymbals on the first and second abdominal segments; females have no tymbals but have tympana, the abdominal flap is very underdeveloped, and the ovipositor is prominent and well developed. Eggs are long oval, slightly curved; about 2.5 mm long and 0.5 mm wide; milky white and glossy. Nymphs are yellow-brown, with wing buds, able to crawl; the forelegs of the first instar already show an obvious digging type; the final-instar nymph is 35 mm long, yellow-brown, with digging-type forelegs and very well-developed wing buds.
Economic resource value of the golden cicada
The edible value of Meimuna opalifera. Scientific analysis shows that Meimuna opalifera contains rich amino acids, protein, and trace elements, and essential amino acids for the human body account for 46.63% of the total amino acids. Besides edible value, Meimuna opalifera also has medicinal functions. When the mature nymph of Meimuna opalifera transforms into an adult, the shell shed during emergence is called cicada slough, also known as “cicada exuvia” or “cicada skin.” Its main components include chitin and protein; its flavor is sweet, salty, and cold, entering the lung and liver meridians, and it is an important Chinese medicine for relieving the exterior with pungent-cool herbs. Fresh and tender nymphs and adults of Meimuna opalifera, especially the nymphs, are not only rich in nutrition and delicious but also have particularly high medicinal value, making them a top-grade medicinal food.
Natural habits of Meimuna opalifera
Meimuna opalifera generally completes 1 generation in 3-5 years; there are also records of completing 1 generation in 5-6 years or 12-13 years. Eggs overwinter in groups on young twigs of the current year or two-year-old branches, and nymphs of various instars overwinter concentrated on plant roots in the soil, meaning there are two overwintering forms: eggs and nymphs of different sizes; overwintering sites are also divided into aboveground and underground environments.
Overwintering eggs begin hatching in mid-May of the following year, with the peak hatching period from late May to early June, and hatching activity ends in late June. Eggs mostly hatch during the daytime afternoon, accounting for about 80%, while fewer hatch at night, about 20%. The egg period is close to 300 days. The activity of overwintering nymphs is most affected by soil temperature and host plant sap. When the low temperature is above 10 degrees C-15 degrees C, tree sap begins to flow, and overwintering nymphs begin piercing and sucking feeding activity.
Nymphs hatching from overwintering eggs (called cicada ants) burrow into the soil, suck sap at the roots of host plants, and have relatively low activity. As the instar increases, they build soil chambers of different sizes and shapes and live inside them. The outer surface of the soil chamber is rough, and the inner wall is smooth and moist; part of the wall is attached to plant roots for feeding. After autumn when the temperature drops, they burrow into deep soil to overwinter, and after spring warms they migrate upward again to activity near tree roots. In one year, the number of nymphs in the soil is greatest in May, when overwintering eggs are hatching into the soil in large numbers and final-instar nymphs are about to emerge from the soil, molt, and become adults.
After completing the entire nymphal life process in the soil, mature nymphs emerge from the soil from late May to mid-to-late August and crawl to shrub branches, weed stems, and other places, attaching to bark, branches, and leaves with their claws and the spines of their forelegs, then molt and emerge as adults. Mid-June to mid-July is the peak period for adult appearance, and early October is the end period. About 20 days after adult emergence, they mate and lay eggs; egg laying begins in late June, late June to late August is the peak egg-laying period for adults, and early September to early October is the egg-laying period.
Adults mostly emerge at night from 8-10 o'clock and in the morning from 4-6 o'clock, and the male-to-female ratio is basically maintained at a 1:1 ratio. Adults often rest on tree trunks and branch tips and have the habit of flying toward fire at night. Adults lay eggs on one-year-old or two-year-old branches 2-7 mm thick; eggs are laid in the xylem of branch tips, with egg nests closely connected, mostly in single rows, sometimes double rows, arranged in a straight line, and a few curved or spirally arranged. Each egg nest contains 6-8 eggs; one egg-laying branch contains 12-479 eggs, generally 20-200, with an average of 146 eggs. Each branch has 6-146 egg holes. Each female carries 500-1000 or more eggs in her abdomen, with a maximum of 1500 eggs, a minimum of 20 eggs, and an average of 800 eggs. Adult lifespan is about 3 months, and the occurrence period is generally from July to September each year. Adults have wings and can fly, living by sucking nutrient sap from young tender branches of trees with piercing-sucking mouthparts. After mating, before laying eggs, the female cicada first inserts her ovipositor into the xylem of current-year or two-year-old slender tender branches, then lays eggs inside. At the same time, she causes the tender branches to dehydrate, dry up, and die, causing harm to trees.
Meimuna opalifera likes tree species with soft wood and more sap, such as hawthorn, peach, apple, elm, and so on.
In fact, everyone may not have known much about the value of cicadas before, only knowing that every summer there are always annoying cicada calls in the trees, especially during the noon nap, when the surroundings are especially quiet and only the cicadas keep calling in the trees. As people's range of knowledge continues to increase, the value of cicadas has gradually been discovered by more people.