What should beginners pay attention to when raising ground beetles?

Feeding scale: different feeding scales yield different benefits per unit area. Generally speaking, the smaller the feeding scale, the higher the cost, the lower the breeding benefit, and the greater the breeding risk. But the scale should not be too large either. Considering both input and output, it is recommended: if ground beetle farming is done as a family side business, then a feeding area of 100-200 sq m is suitable; if ground beetles are raised as the family's main industry, a feeding area of 300-500 sq m is suitable.

Feeding temperature: artificial ground beetle farming must use constant-temperature three-dimensional breeding. The suitable temperature for activity is 17℃—38℃, and the optimum temperature is between 23℃—32℃. At such temperatures, ground beetles can grow and lay eggs in all four seasons. With scientific and reasonable feeding, it takes 7—8 months from larva to adult, with the shortest time being 6 months. One breeding room can produce two batches of adults per year. Feeding equipment: the ground beetle is an omnivorous insect that likes to live in dark, moist, humus-rich, loose and fertile soil. It mostly comes out at night to move about, forage and mate, and fears direct sunlight. It is very necessary to create a good, comfortable living environment for ground beetles. Suitable sites and equipment can make ground beetles grow rapidly and increase yield. According to one's own conditions, breeding pools can be built indoors or in a greenhouse. The size of the breeding pool depends on the breeding quantity. The breeding pool is built with bricks into a three-dimensional tiered shelf style, with the surroundings sealed tightly with 4.5 cm plastic strips, and the bottom of the pool treated with cement to prevent escape. Ground beetles can also be raised in plastic boxes or plastic basins. Set the basins and boxes up layer by layer for three-dimensional breeding, so as to fully use indoor space and increase yield. At present, there are mainly two kinds of breeding rooms for ground beetles: ordinary breeding houses and greenhouse-style breeding houses. 1. An ordinary breeding house should be built in a place with high terrain, shade and moisture, convenient drainage, facing away from water and toward the sun, and relatively quiet. The house should face south, with windows at the front and back so that indoor air can circulate when needed. Doors and windows should be fitted with screen mesh to prevent male adult ground beetles from flying out and natural enemies of ground beetles from invading. Room temperature should not exceed 36℃. Deciduous trees can be planted in front of and behind the house, which can provide shade in summer without blocking winter sunlight. Electric lights installed in the breeding house can adjust lighting time as needed and also provide illumination when feeding in the evening. On both sides indoors, 4-5 layers of breeding pools can be built. 2. A greenhouse-style breeding house should be built on flat ground with sufficient sunlight as a sloped plastic solar greenhouse, with the north wall 2.5 m high, the front wall 1.5 m high, and the greenhouse width 4-5 m. The greenhouse walls can be rammed with mud or built with red bricks. The ground inside the greenhouse should be smoothed with cement. The top film is best covered with double-layer polyvinyl chloride film, which helps raise the greenhouse temperature and extend the service life of the film. Fix the film well with press film lines, install a small door on one wall, and leave a window on the other side. The breeding pools in the greenhouse can be built as single-layer or multi-layer. A single-layer pool is made by building several small pools 30 cm high with bricks, and the inner walls of the pool are lined with ceramic tiles or glass strips to prevent ground beetles from escaping. The pools can be built in two rows, left and right, with an aisle left in the middle. Single-layer pools are convenient to manage and operate, but the greenhouse utilization rate is not high. A multi-layer pool uses angle iron or wooden strips to make a multi-layer support, with plastic basins placed on the shelves. The distance between layers is 30 cm, divided into front, middle and rear rows, with an aisle left in the middle. This multi-layer rack-and-basin breeding method is convenient to manage, evenly heated, can increase breeding quantity, raise yield, and bring high economic benefits. Feeding soil: the ground beetle is a nocturnal insect that hides in the soil during the day to rest, and likes to forage in the soil or on the soil surface. Therefore, soil is the microhabitat of this kind of insect. The quality of the soil and the combination of its contained substances are directly related to the survival and growth and development of ground beetles. No matter whether the breeding facility is a pool or a box, the bottom must be covered with loose and fertile feeding soil, with a thickness of 5—15 cm. The thickness of the feeding soil depends on the age of the insects; the younger the insect age, the slightly thinner the soil layer. The moisture content of the feeding soil should be kept at about 20%, and the relative humidity should be kept at about 70%. 1: Soil quality and moisture content: the requirements for selecting feeding soil in different places should be adjusted according to specific conditions, such as vegetable garden soil, garbage soil, ditch mud, stove-foot soil, and sand-clay mixed soil, while mixing in an appropriate amount (20%-30%) of fermented chicken manure, pig manure, horse manure, cinder ash or rice husk ash. No matter which soil is chosen, after mixing it should be loose in texture, rich in nutrients, and moderate in dryness and moisture; it can be clenched into a ball in the hand and will scatter when the hand is released. If the moisture content is measured, it should be 15%-20%. Such soil quality is convenient for ground beetles to hide, drill in or crawl out, and freely move about to forage and find mates. 2: Treatment of feeding soil: before the feeding soil is put into pits or pools, it must be exposed to sunlight, sterilized, dewormed, and sieved to remove impurities, bricks, stones, and all factors unfavorable to the life of ground beetles. These should be eliminated in advance as much as possible. The thickness of the feeding soil laid in the pool should differ according to different insect ages or adult stages, and the soil thickness should also differ with different densities in the same pool and in different seasons. Experience shows that the thickness of the feeding soil for 1st-4th instar nymphs should be 7-10 cm; for 5th-8th instar insects it should be 16-20 cm; for 9th-11th instar insects and adults it should be 20-26 cm. In the same pool, where insect population density is high, the soil should be thicker, and where density is low, the soil should be shallower; in summer the soil should be thinner, and in winter thicker; for breeding insects, the soil should be thicker than for medicinal insects, so as to facilitate mating and egg-laying with less disturbance. Introduction of ground beetle stock: 1. Choose the site. Ground beetles should generally be raised indoors. In rural areas, the most common method is outdoor pool breeding. Outdoor release pools should be dug and built in places sheltered from wind and facing the sun. 2. Where to introduce stock from. Beginners had best introduce stock from established ground beetle farms with many years of experience and a good reputation. Absolutely do not introduce stock from “promotion offices”, “consignment sales offices” and the like in hotels or inns that move from place to place, so as to avoid being cheated.

3. Best time for stock introduction. Ground beetle stock introduction can be divided into introducing insects and introducing egg masses. For introducing insects, the egg-laying period (June-October) is best. Ground beetle egg masses can also be introduced directly, available all year round with no seasonal restriction. Egg masses can hatch white young ground beetles at around 30℃. 4. Seed selection and transportation. Select ground beetles with excellent breed, strong and lively individuals, full body condition, and no disease or injury as breeding insects. During transportation, prepare a sufficiently large cloth bag or wooden box according to the amount of introduced stock, and place a certain amount of feeding soil in the bag or box. Feed: the feed types for ground beetle farming can generally be divided into 3 kinds of feed with different properties: plant-based feed: including wheat bran, rice bran, oilseed cake meal, powder residue, broken rice, corn and other miscellaneous grain powders. Stir-fry until a fragrant aroma is released, spread out to cool, and then feed. Animal-based feed: leftover pig, cattle, chicken, duck, fish and other trimmings from restaurants can all be used as feed for them to eat, but they must not be spoiled or deteriorated, to prevent ground beetles from becoming diseased and dying. If conditions permit, they can be processed into bone-and-meat mixed floss and stored refrigerated. Small insects such as yellow mealworms, earthworms, crickets, locusts, and moths can be killed and put in directly for them to eat. Earthworms can also be artificially raised (apart from medicinal use) to feed ground beetles, which most eagerly eat them. Green feed is food that ground beetles must have as a supplement. Green vegetable leaves, cabbage, lettuce, amaranth, as well as leaves of sesame, broad bean, peanut, sweet potato, etc., and pumpkin, loofah flowers and fruits can all be fed. Melon and fruit peel and pulp, and Chinese yam cut into pieces, are even more preferred. The green feed fed should be kept fresh and clean. Extra care must be taken not to gather green feed that has been sprayed with insecticides, to prevent ground beetles from being poisoned to death. Feeding: in the high-temperature seasons of summer and autumn, green feed should be added 1-2 times every day, preferably put in in the morning and kept fresh. To increase nutrition, pumpkin flowers and loofah flowers are indispensable. The number of feedings and the feeding amount per day should be controlled as follows: feed once every other day in low-temperature months, and 1-2 times daily in high-temperature months. The feeding amount should match the insect population density in the pit or pool. After each feeding, observe whether feed remains or is lacking. In principle, ensure that concentrated feed is eaten up and green feed remains in surplus. This both lets the insects eat their fill and avoids unnecessary waste and excess residue attracting parasites and phytophagous mites.

Before and after molting, ground beetles eat less, so feed less; during molting they stop feeding, so do not feed. When many skins are found on the surface of the feeding soil, indicating an urgent need for a large amount of feed, promptly restore normal feeding. During hibernation, feeding may be omitted, but if the climate suddenly turns warm and insects are found emerging from the soil and moving about, an appropriate amount of concentrated feed should also be scattered for them to eat.