What are the breeding techniques for cicadas and which regions are suitable for breeding them?

As people increasingly value the concept of healthy eating, cicadas will become one of humanity's important green foods. Because artificial cicada farming requires little investment, the techniques are easy to master, it saves labor, offers high returns and low risk, it is rapidly becoming a new rural money-making project. So what are the breeding techniques for cicadas? Which regions are suitable for breeding them?

I. Which regions are suitable for breeding cicadas?

1. Regions suitable for breeding cicadas

Basically speaking, the regions in China suitable for breeding are mainly Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Hebei, Shaanxi, Shandong, Henan, Anhui, Hunan, Fujian, Taiwan, China, Guangdong, Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan. At present, the provinces with large-scale cicada farming are mainly Shandong, Jiangsu, Hebei, Henan, Hubei and Sichuan.

2. Rearing conditions for cicadas

Cicadas are mainly farmed using woodland. As long as there is woodland, or land on which trees and perennial plants can be planted, it can be done. There is no need to build farming sheds, nor to buy farming facilities and equipment or spend money building farming installations. The main expense is buying seed stock, which makes it suitable for starting a business.

In addition, as to whether a specific place can carry out cicada farming, there is a simple way to judge:

In summer, as long as the calls of wild cicadas can be heard in the local woodland, it shows that artificial farming is possible there;

If cicada calls have never been heard in summer, it means that some condition such as the local climate, soil or tree species may not be suitable for cicada growth, and at this point a small-scale farming trial is needed to determine whether farming is actually possible.

II. What are the breeding techniques for cicadas?

1. Collecting eggs and breeding cicadas

One way is to collect eggs yourself for breeding, and the other is to buy seed eggs.

For self-collection, egg-bearing branches collected directly from the wild or from seed stock sites can be gathered indoors to promote hatching.

Hatching method: In a plastic box 70 cm long, 40 cm wide and 20 cm high, spread fine dry sand 5-10 cm thick on the bottom, place the egg branches in bundles upright or horizontally on top, and continuously spray mist with a small sprayer to keep the air around the egg-bearing branches highly humid, so that excess water droplets are absorbed by the fine sand at the bottom. During this period, the hatching of the eggs should be checked repeatedly; when nymph activity is found, the branches together with the fine sand can be placed in the farming site for propagation.

But note that wild cicada seed eggs have drawbacks such as inconsistent emergence, mixed varieties and low yield. In addition, it is best not to use cicada seed eggs from fruit tree orchards, because seed eggs in fruit tree orchards are seriously harmed by pesticides and have a relatively low survival rate, while large-scale farming should purchase from regular professional farming operations.

2. Propagating cicadas

The propagation time is generally from May to September. On the ground about 1 m away from the base of the tree trunk, dig regular narrow trenches about 30-50 cm deep, in shapes such as rings, squares, triangles, parallel lines or radiating lines, for the purpose of later digging and harvesting. After “propagation”, cover with soil and press firm, and keep records of the time, quantity, trench shape and depth of the “propagation”.

In choosing tree species, healthy tree species with well-developed root systems, luxuriant growth and relatively abundant sap should be selected for propagation, such as poplar, elm, willow, paulownia or various fruit trees in orchards, all of which are tree species that cicadas like to feed on. In addition, dwarf shrubs such as honeysuckle and privet are also crops that cicadas like to feed on. Cicadas must not be farmed under trees such as pine or bitter chinaberry, because the roots and stems of pine have a special pine fragrance that cicadas do not like to feed on, and cicada larvae also do not like to feed on the bitter sap of the bitter chinaberry tree.

Warm tip: From the egg stage to growing and developing into mature nymphs, cicadas need to grow underground for three winters and summers (actually 2 years). Artificial farming of cicadas shortens their growth cycle; under artificial farming they can emerge naturally in 2-3 years, so the return cycle is short. Each mu can produce 20,000-30,000 cicadas a year, with an income of more than 8,000 yuan.