In order to help insect friends better understand and raise song insects, Lao Jiang intends to launch a small science series of song insects to introduce some basic knowledge of playing with song insects, including their morphology, ecological characteristics, habits and so on. I hope to throw bricks and stones.
What are the stages of hatching and development of songbirds? (Part 1)
The main songbirds in China are the orthoptera cricket family and cricket insects, the growth and development characteristics of these two types of songworms are basically not much different, while the cicadas of the same wing family are not the same as them. All three types of songworms are incomplete metamorphosis and only pass through three stages: egg, nymph and adult.
Egg stage
According to observational studies, the eggs laid by crickets, oil gourds, grasshoppers, etc. are all laid down in the soil. The eggs of crickets are laid 1 cm underground, the eggs are about 0.25 cm long and 0.05 cm thick. The eggs of the oil gourd are laid 2 cm underground, the egg is 0.35 cm long and 0.1 cm thick. The eggs of grasshoppers are laid 4 to 5 cm underground, 0.6 to 0.7 cm long, and are wheat-shaped. The eggs of the golden bell are laid under cracks in the bark and in the stems and branches of the plant. The eggs of the little yellow bell are laid in the branches of dead herbs such as rice, reeds, etc. Bamboo bell eggs are laid in the young stems of the plant. Admiralty lays eggs on rotten wood or live wood. The size of the egg is proportional to the size of the songbird's body shape. The number of eggs laid by various songbirds varies.
The seasons for egg hatching vary, as far as jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui regions are concerned, the eggs of the oil gourd hatch in mid-April; the eggs of crickets (bucket crickets) crickets begin to hatch in early May; the golden bells cannot hatch nymphs until mid- and late May; golden bells, stone bells, etc. cannot see nymphs until early June. The first-aged nymphs of Za'er and Textile Lady can be seen in May. Some songbirds such as golden bells, rhubarb bells, small yellow bells, ink bells, bamboo bells, grass bells, flying tadpoles, small head grubs, etc. can occur in the Yangtze River Basin area for 2 to 3 generations in a year, which is another matter. The eggs of cricket-like songbirds are mostly milky white, slowly turning yellowish and brown before hatching. Grasshoppers and other grasshoppers, the eggs are white-gray, gradually turning light brown, and finally becoming light green. It has been reported that the egg grows in size during development, and the volume before hatching can be about double that of the newly laid egg.
Nymph stage
When the temperature and humidity are right, the eggs begin to hatch into nymphs. The nymphs such as the newly unearthed crickets and golden bells are all white, only the size of ants, and then the color gradually changes from white to brown, and finally becomes black. At this point, these delicate little crickets begin to jump, feed, and look for their own habitat. The grasshopper nymphs that hatch at the beginning are emerald green and very cute, and the nymphs that will be in the future, until they are feathered into adults, are basically green. The newly laid little grasshopper is only 0.8 cm long and resembles a green ant.
Adult stage
The first instar insects that hatch must undergo six molts before they can feather into adult worms. The time between each molt is not equal, it is determined by temperature, humidity, food, environment and other aspects. Generally speaking, if the food is rich and nutritious, the temperature is suitable, and there is a certain humidity, it can molt once a week or so, and it can mature and call in about a month and a half. However, due to the limitations of various conditions in nature, especially the restrictions of weather and food, crickets take about 3 months to mature in the wild.
In the summer of 1993, the temperature in the Jiangnan region was low and rainy, and the bamboo bells in the Suwan area opened nearly half a month later than the bamboo bells in Henan and Shandong. The same is true of the fighting crickets, due to the rainy rain in the Yangtze River Basin, the fighting crickets in Shandong, Henan and Beijing often have their chirping in late July, while in nanjing and other places in the south, they cannot be feathered in large numbers until after the autumn. In the same region, the influence of the climatic environment on the growth of songworms is also very large. For example, due to the low temperature and rainy temperature in the Jiangnan region in the summer of 1993, the dry golden pipa and green grasshopper (tianling) opened late for about 10 days, and the number of green grasshoppers was greatly reduced. The sexually moist Jin Zhong'er not only feathered into adult insects on time after the autumn and began to chirp, but also increased in number compared with previous years. The relationship between molting and humidity is also well known.
Cricket catchers know that after a rain in autumn, a large number of crickets feather into adult insects, which is a good time to catch crickets. Therefore, only after the sixth, or final molt, can the songworm grow wings that can be pronounced, which is called "feathering". After feathering, the songbird can sing and call it a songbird. Of course, this refers to the male, and the female is not allowed to bark, although it also has wings.
(Note: Source Jiang Qinghai, January 2000, "Songworm Appreciation and Feeding 300 Answers" • Nanjing: Jiangsu Science and Technology Publishing House)