Complete Analysis of Key Points and Methods of Ground Beetle Farming Technology

The ground beetle (Eupolyphaga sinensis), also called tubiechong or tuyuan, is cold in nature, salty in taste, and toxic; it has functions such as promoting lactation, resolving blood stasis, and relieving pain, and is an important traditional Chinese medicinal material.

I. Growth and Development The ground beetle must go through egg laying, nymph, and adult stages to complete one generation. Males take about 3 months to mature; females take about 9-11 months. From June to October, eggs are laid 1 week after mating. The egg mass (called the ootheca) is about 0.5 cm long; at 30-35°C, white nymphs hatch after 40-60 days, and thereafter molt 10-11 times every 20-50 days.

II. Rearing Equipment

1. Toolbox: There are four kinds of sieves: No. 1 sieve with 8.5 mm square mesh; No. 2 sieve with 3.5 mm square mesh; No. 3 sieve roughly the same as a bran sieve; No. 4 sieve with 1.2 mm square mesh.

2. Rearing pits: The rearing pits should have their rear side against a wall; along a wall area 3.5 m long and 0.5 m wide, five pits can be built, each divided by cement boards into 5 layers, making 25 pits in total, each with an area of 0.33 sq m, with soil placed inside. The front of each pit is divided into upper and lower sections: the lower section is made of cement board and the upper section of wood; when necessary, both the upper and lower sections can be removed. For the rearing soil, sandy soil, clay soil, or loam soil will all do. After breaking up the soil, use a No. 3 sieve to remove large clods, mix in a small amount of plant ash, and bring the moisture content to about 20%. For nymphs of instars 1-4, the rearing soil should not exceed 6.7 cm in thickness; for nymphs of instar 5 and above and for adults, a thickness of 10 cm is suitable. In winter and summer, a soil thickness of 20 cm is appropriate.

III. Rearing Management

1. Density: The rearing density can be adjusted as the insects grow older, with an upper limit of 9 kg per sq m. Ground beetles have the habit of eating eggs, so the density of breeding stock must not be too high. When ground beetles are raised in groups, their development will differ by 1-4 instars, so once the rearing density approaches a certain number, they should be sorted into grades. Nymphs of instars 1-6 can be kept together; when the density is too high, they will kill each other and devour the oothecae. The rearing pits must be dark, with only the upper left corner and lower right corner each left with a ventilation hole 3.3 cm long and 3.3 cm wide. When the temperature is above 38°C, the pit doors must be opened to lower the temperature, and the pit soil thickened and the density reduced.

2. Feed: For ground beetles (Eupolyphaga sinensis), the best concentrated feed is wheat bran and rice bran, followed by corn meal and rapeseed cake meal; the best coarse feed is tree-of-heaven leaves and elm leaves, followed by sunflower, various green grasses, melon and fruit peels, vegetable leaves, and leftover scraps and swill from livestock, poultry, and fish. When feeding, the feeding method should be flexibly adjusted according to different instars, different seasons, and different developmental stages. For nymphs of instars 1-4, some dry soil can be placed on the surface of the rearing soil and the concentrated feed scattered on top. For nymphs of instar 5 and above and for adults, a 3.3 cm thick layer of rice husks can be spread on the surface of the rearing soil, then the concentrated and green feeds scattered on top. In months with low temperatures, feeding once every other day is acceptable; from June to September, feed daily, and morning feeding is best. During the molting period of insects of all instars, feed little or no concentrated feed, and resume normal feeding after molting is basically finished.

3. Artificial incubation of oothecae: Artificial incubation begins in early to mid-February. Use a relatively large aluminum pot, place a clay bowl inside it, with the bowl slightly smaller than the pot. Put incubation soil in the bowl and mix it evenly with the oothecae. Fill the pot with water, with the water level the same height as the soil in the bowl, and heat the bottom of the pot with a kerosene lamp placed 1.7 cm from the pot bottom, keeping the water temperature at 32-35°C. Stir the soil and eggs once every few days. Continue day and night; after 40-60 days all will hatch.

4. Winter rearing and warming method: Ground beetles (Eupolyphaga sinensis) have the habit of hibernation. When the temperature drops below 8°C, they burrow into the soil, and when the temperature rises back to 10°C in April of the following year, they emerge again to be active. In the low-temperature seasons of winter and spring, artificial heating can be used for rearing, allowing two batches of marketable insects per year and a yield of 20-25 kg of fresh insects per sq m. In winter they can be raised in a greenhouse; greenhouse styles vary in size, as long as they can retain heat. For example, an east-west oriented greenhouse, 6-12 m long, 3 m wide, and 2.5 m high. Build double hollow walls with bricks laid flat. The roof is high in the north and low in the south, with a slope of 1:25. The roof is covered with glass. Use sunlight for heating, or apply artificial heating when the temperature is too low. Place two coal briquette stoves in the greenhouse. Install heat-transfer iron pipes on the stoves and discharge the coal gas outdoors. Place a kettle on the stove to regulate the temperature and humidity inside, keeping the temperature at 27-32°C.

IV. Pest and Disease Control

1. Green mold disease: This mainly occurs during the plum rain season. After infection, the abdomen of the ground beetle (Eupolyphaga sinensis) turns dark green with spots, the whole body becomes soft, appetite decreases, and before long it crawls out onto the soil surface and dies. Once this disease is found, immediately isolate the diseased insects for rearing, replace the pit soil with drier soil, and reduce the density. At the same time, spray the insects with 0.5% formalin solution; erythromycin 0.25 g mixed into 0.25 kg of wheat bran can also be fed continuously 2-3 times until recovery.

2. Ootheca aspergillosis: Because of the high temperature and high humidity inside the jar (bowl), Aspergillus multiplies in large numbers, causing the death of eggs and nymphs. The control method is: keep the pit soil dry, with humidity not exceeding 20%; collect the oothecae once every 10 days, and after mixing 1 part of 3% bleaching powder with 9 parts of lime powder, sprinkle it on the oothecae for disinfection. After hatching, sieve out the larvae every 3 days and place them in larval jars for rearing. Do not provide food during the incubation period.