Detailed Explanation of Practical Technical Points for Ground Beetle Farming
Ground beetles have the characteristics of low cost, easy management and high benefits. They greatly shorten the growth cycle of ground beetles, turning small-scale workshop-style ground beetle farming into large-scale base-style ground beetle farming, and opening up a new path for the development of China's rural economy. Ground beetle farming offers flexible investment, simple technology and stable income, and is relatively suitable for farming in vast rural and suburban areas. In order to help the broad masses achieve common prosperity and meet the increasingly scarce market gap, this article specifically introduces the medicinal uses, market prospects and farming techniques of ground beetles for exchange and study.
Species and Distribution
The ground beetle is a medicinal small insect of the family Corydiidae. It is also known as the soil turtle insect, ground turtle, winnowing basket insect, soil turtle, soil turtle insect, and hibernating insect. Modern traditional Chinese medicine pharmacopoeia calls it "tubiechong" (Eupolyphaga sinensis). There are mainly three species of ground beetles in China, namely Eupolyphaga sinensis, Eupolyphaga plancyi, and Opisthoplatia orientalis. Eupolyphaga sinensis is mainly produced in the Yangtze River and Han River basins; due to its high medicinal value and strong adaptability, it is now distributed throughout the country. Eupolyphaga plancyi is mainly produced in the provinces on both sides of the Yellow River and areas to the north. Opisthoplatia orientalis is mainly produced in the southern provinces. After comprehensive textual research and analysis by the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Food and Drug Administration, and the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine on the nature, flavor, efficacy and ecological environment of tubiechong, as well as reference to illustrations in ancient materia medica, it is believed that the medicinal ground beetle referred to in materia medica from the Liang Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty all refers to Eupolyphaga sinensis. The only medicinal species recorded in the "Chinese Pharmacopoeia" is also Eupolyphaga sinensis. Although Eupolyphaga plancyi and Opisthoplatia orientalis can also be used as medicine, market survey results show that Eupolyphaga sinensis is the main medicinal species sold in China's medicinal materials market, and is also the main farmed species of tubiechong used as both medicine and food.
Living Habits
Ground beetles like to grow in dark, moist and relatively soft soil, and prefer a quiet environment without direct sunlight, mostly hiding by day and coming out at night. They generally come out to forage, move about and mate from 6 pm to 11 pm. The lifespan of a ground beetle is 3-5 years, and it takes about 12 months from larva to adult. Below 10°C it will enter a hibernation state, and above 10°C it can grow and develop. The optimal temperature is 20°C to 37°C.
1. Non-social nature. Under reasonable density, ground beetles of all instars can grow quietly and harmoniously.
2. Soil-dwelling nature. Ground beetles like dark, moist, humus-rich, loose soil, and do not like direct sunlight or cold climates.
3. Incomplete metamorphosis. A ground beetle goes through three stages in its life: egg, nymph and adult.
4. Omnivorous nature. Ground beetles have a very wide range of food: rice bran, wheat bran, vegetable leaves, and plant humus.
5. Negative phototaxis. Ground beetles fear light and prefer to hide by day and come out at night, lurking in the rearing soil during the day and coming out at night to forage and mate.
6. Poikilothermic nature. The growth of ground beetles is greatly affected by temperature; at around 10°C it will enter a hibernation state, and above 10°C it can grow and develop.
Medicinal Value
Tubiechong is a traditional Chinese medicine for promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis. It is a traditional precious medicinal material in China and was designated a “Spark Program” project by the former State Science and Technology Commission. It has the effects of expelling blood stasis, breaking up accumulations, dredging collaterals and treating injuries. With the development of modern medicine, the various chemical components of tubiechong have been fully studied, and it is now widely used to prevent and treat hepatitis, liver cancer, tuberculosis, sciatica, hypertension, leukemia, diabetes and various malignant tumors, and is praised as the guardian of people's lives.
According to relevant traditional Chinese medicine experts, tubiechong has high medicinal value and a wide range of applications. It mainly treats postpartum blood stasis abdominal pain, traumatic injuries, stroke with deviated mouth, hemiplegia, and cerebral blood stasis and old infarction; it is anti-coagulant and anti-hypoxic for hypertension; it treats rheumatic muscle and bone pain; acute hepatitis B; and other diseases, and has effects such as inhibiting tumors, regulating blood lipids and increasing immune function, especially with significant efficacy against malignant tumors, leukemia and so on. China has developed more than a hundred kinds of Chinese patent medicines using ground beetles, which sell well at home and abroad, such as Dieda Pill, Zhishang Powder, Qili Powder, Xiaozhong Ointment, Baiyao, Renshen Biejia Chong, Zhuifeng Pill, Chushangxiao, Zhonghua Dibie Capsule, Zhonghua Dibie Wine, Tongxinluo Capsule, Naosaitong, Yaotong Tablet, Yaotongning, Dieda Zhen Tong Ointment and other Chinese patent medicines compatible with ground beetles, reaching more than 100 kinds. At the same time, with the development of the times, insect food is gradually becoming popular. Ground beetles contain high protein and low fat, can prevent many diseases, have good edible value, and are also made into ground beetle tonic wine and other products.