A Detailed Guide to Artificial Cicada Farming Techniques

    The cicada, also known as the "zhi liao" (know-it-all), is nutritious and tasty, making it a fashionable delicacy. Raising cicada nymphs artificially is simple, requires very little investment, and produces quick results.

    Collecting cicada eggs: On sunny days, female cicadas gather mostly on the current-year branches of lush green willow and poplar trees and apple trees to lay their eggs, and they are especially fond of laying eggs on white willow twigs. The branches wither on their own 3 to 10 days after egg-laying, and on close inspection granular eggs can be seen attached to the withered branches. Pull off the withered branches by hand and they can serve as seedlings to hatch cicada nymphs. A single egg branch contains roughly 50 to 100 cicada eggs. For each square meter, 2 to 3 egg branches can be buried.

    Choosing a site: The site for burying egg branches should be chosen in willow and poplar groves, old apple orchards, and riverside areas overgrown with white willow. The soil should be neither sandy nor compacted, free of ants and moles, and loose, moist loam; a spot where many cicada nymphs emerged the previous year is also a good choice for burying egg branches.

    Burying the egg branches: White willow seedlings can be dug up from riverbanks or moist ground and planted in loose loam at a spacing of 35 cm between plants and 90 cm between rows, with 2,300 plants per mu. Between two rows of white willow, rake a trench 3 cm deep, bury the egg branches in it and cover with 3 cm of soil; alternatively, in willow and poplar groves or old apple orchards, dig a trench 3 cm deep 2 m from the main trunk, bury the egg branches in it, then cover with soil and tamp it level.

⟧    Farming management: After the cicada eggs are buried underground, pay attention to drainage and flood prevention during the rainy season. In dry weather, water the white willow, willow and poplar trees, or apple trees. While watering, also apply farmyard manure to promote lush growth, provide enough nutrient sources for the cicada larvae -- the young cicada nymphs -- so that the young nymphs grow vigorously, increase in size, and boost yields. Strictly guard against trampling by people and livestock and against damage from natural enemies such as ants and moles.

    Harvesting and processing: 2 to 3 years after the egg branches are buried, the cicada nymphs begin to gradually grow and mature. The harvest period is generally around the Summer Solstice each year; after a soaking rain, plump, sturdy nymphs start emerging from the ground between 4 and 5 in the morning, or after rain clears they will also emerge from the ground at any time and quickly seek out willow twigs or stems to climb up. After 2 to 4 hours they shed their skin and become cicadas. Based on this trait of the cicada nymph, after the Summer Solstice in a given year, if there is no rain and drought persists, the farming site can be watered thoroughly by hand to draw the nymphs out of the ground. Before the nymphs emerge, or before the nymphs mature, a ring of smooth plastic film can be tied around the tree trunk 30 cm above the ground so that the nymphs cannot continue climbing up the tree, making harvesting easier.