Where are ground beetles (Eupolyphaga sinensis) commonly found? Breeding containers and methods for identifying authenticity

The ground beetle, also known as tubi worm (soil bug), guojie, zhuanshi worm, etc., is a medicinal herb in short supply on the market. With the destruction of the natural environment and the year-by-year expansion of domestic and international market demand, it is especially renowned for its excellent quality. Wild soil bugs can no longer meet the market demand, so where is the ground beetle commonly found? What containers are used for breeding it?

I. Where is the ground beetle commonly found?

The ground beetle often moves about in the soil at the base of the walls of old-style earthen dwellings, living in dark, damp, loose soil rich in humus. It fears sunlight, hiding by day and active by night. Its optimum growth temperature is 28-30°C. Below 0°C or above 38°C it causes massive death of adults and nymphs. At 8°C it stops activity and enters dormancy.

II. What containers are used to breed the ground beetle?

The artificially raised ground beetle is Eupolyphaga sinensis, mainly used medicinally, and distributed throughout the country. Artificial breeding of soil bugs should be adapted to local conditions and kept simple. Depending on the scale of breeding, the size is not restricted and the forms are many. Breeding can be done in jars, pits (ponds), basins, cabinets, boxes, etc. To make the breeding soil loose and fertile, an appropriate amount of rice husks, wood ash, sawdust, or fermented horse manure and cow dung, as well as bean shells, river mud, etc., can be added to the breeding soil. But be sure not to use sewage ditch mud or soil that has been treated with ammonia water, pesticides, or alkaline soil as breeding soil.

III. How to identify the ground beetle?

Ground beetle: the body is oval and flat, 2-3 in length, 1-2 cm in width. One end of the head is narrower, and the tail end is wider.

The back is purplish-black, shell-like, formed by nine transverse segments arranged in an imbricate pattern. The ventral surface is dark brown and glossy; the head is visible, small, brownish-black, with a pair of antennae, but these have mostly fallen off in commercial products. The thorax has three pairs of legs, curved. The abdomen is raised, with curved segments visible. The tail segments are relatively wide and slightly pointed.

The texture is loose and brittle, easily broken. Inside the abdomen there is a grayish-black substance. The odor is fishy and foul. Those that are neat, unbroken, oily and glossy, and clean without soil are considered the best.