In the past 10 years, the domestic cicada industry can not be described as hot. In Yongkang City, Zhejiang Province, consumers have eaten 5 tons of golden cicadas in a day; in Xuzhou, northern Jiangsu, the main city alone can eat about 4 tons of golden cicadas a day, a total of about 800,000. In the whole country, there are many similar "cicada eaters", and the market shortage of demand has become the norm.
In the United States, on the other side of the ocean, the situation is very different. The species of cicada in the eastern United States is called the "BrudD X cicada", and the domestic cicada is called the red-eyed cicada.
Unlike the domestic golden cicada, every time the red-eyed cicada appears in a concentrated manner, it will bring a lot of trouble to the lives of American residents. For example, the 2004 cicada disaster swept through the United States, affecting Washington and 14 eastern states, and public events such as weddings, ball games and concerts were postponed or changed to indoors.
Entomologists who study the "Brudd X cicada" point out that the size of each group of cicadas is not the same, ranging from billions to tens of billions, and the size is related to the specific cicada species. Each male cicada can make a sound of 100 decibels during courtship, which is equivalent to a lawn mower roaring in the ear. Countless red-eyed cicadas "play" at the same time, which will undoubtedly bring huge noise pollution and various inconveniences.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="34" > out of control American pink-eyed cicada</h1>
The "cyclical" proliferation of red-eyed cicadas in the United States is not a phenomenon that has only appeared in recent decades. More than 300 years ago, colonists from Europe experienced a similar horror in the Tennessee region of the American continent: countless red-eyed cicadas seemed to emerge from the ground overnight, with an average of millions per hectare. But a few weeks later, the cicadas suddenly disappeared.
A large number of actual observational data show that the cycle of the red-eyed cicada is mostly prime, such as the cicada population in the southern and central and western regions of North America with a 13-year cycle, while the cicada population in the northern region is a 17-year cycle.
Young cicadas at different stages of development
Scientists believe that reproduction in prime cycles is a very clever survival strategy. For example, with a 13-year cycle, the life cycle of natural enemies can only be 1 year or 13 years, when the intensity of predation is relatively low; but if the 12-year cycle is used, then species with a 1-year, 2-year, 3-year, 4-year, 6-year and 12-year cycle may become natural enemies of the red-eyed cicada, and the probability of being preyed upon will be greatly increased.
Whenever the red-eyed cicadas awoke from the ground, they could be seen in almost every corner of the grass, on the branches, on the courtyard walls. Although most Americans see the red-eyed cicada as a disaster, some will try cooking, turning it into a delicacy.
David Hammond is a Chicago chef who also runs a food website. He thinks it's okay to fry the red-eyed cicadas and dip them in the sauce and sauce. But consumers don't seem to buy it, and many people find insect-based foods difficult to swallow, and it's not easy to cross psychological barriers.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="33" > 30 billion pink-eyed cicadas are about to spring out, and the next time will be in 2038</h1>
In the eastern region of the United States, there are as many as 15 species of periodic cicadas, of which the 17-year cicada is the largest and most concentrated.
The first clearly documented account of the history of the 17-year cicada was in 1715, when a large number of events in the diary of a priest in Philadelphia, USA, recorded the appearance of a large number of red-eyed cicadas.
The first two 17-year cicadas appeared in 1987 and 2004. In 2021, 15 states in the United States will once again be invaded by 17-year cicadas, including Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, West Virginia, Delaware, North Carolina, New Jersey and so on, and the easternmost Washington, D.C. has not been spared.
17-year-old cicada distribution range and hotspot areas
Entomologists in the United States pointed out that there are actually 17 different generations of 17-year-old cicadas underground, each of which is of a different size and size, and there are corresponding "hot spots" (that is, areas with high density distribution of pink-eyed cicadas). For example, the red-eyed cicada in 2020 is mainly in parts of Virginia and North Carolina. The batch of cicadas that appeared this year (2021) is the most widely distributed and numerous generation among all generations, and the descendants of this batch of 17-year-old cicadas will break ground in 2038.
Regarding the number of pink-eyed cicadas, experts estimate that it may be around 30 billion, and the time to concentrate on the hole will be from May 22 to June 1. After the cicadas have mated, the larvae of the cicadas will move to the ground and feed exclusively on the sap of the roots, which is very harmful to young tree species (especially fruit trees).
Mike Laup, an entomologist at the University of Maryland, said it's best not to plant trees next spring to reduce forest losses, and that trees just planted in 2020 will also be at risk. For this purpose, the mesh cover can be used to provide protection for young tree species and prevent red-eyed cicadas from laying eggs on the branches. The diameter of the mesh should be controlled within one centimeter, the smaller the better, and completely cover the saplings.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="32" > the use of Chinese golden cicadas, what inspiration can be brought to the development of red-eyed cicadas? </h1>
The pink-eyed cicada is rich in protein, is very easy to catch, and is a delicacy for many birds, rodents and reptiles. Theoretically, the pink-eyed cicada could also be developed into a human delicacy, but due to the influence of eating habits, this species cannot be solved by eating in the United States.
Birds are powerful predators of the red-eyed cicada
From another perspective, if a suitable development method can be found, the Red-Eyed Cicada in the United States may be able to turn harm into profit and become a considerable source of wealth.
Take the development of cicada species in China as an example. In China, the cicada itself can be eaten, and the cicada can also be used in medicine. The so-called cicada metamorphosis, in fact, is the shell of the nymph that falls off when the nymph of the cicada is feathered, and it is a traditional Chinese medicinal material in China, with a history of more than 2,000 years of medicinal use.
Since 1963, the Chinese Pharmacopoeia has officially included the black grasshopper as a legally prescribed metamorphosis source species. In recent years, with the development of cicada metamorphosis medicinal resources, the varieties of cicadas that can be used in medicine are constantly expanding, such as South China grasshoppers, singing cicadas, Mongolian cicadas, mountain cicadas, Chinese cicadas and so on.
In the Chinese herbal medicine market, cicadas can be divided into two kinds: golden cicada clothes and earth cicada clothes, of which golden cicada clothes are from mountain cicadas, and earth cicada clothes are from black grasshoppers and South China grasshoppers. These cicadas are rich in acetyl dopamine polymers, which are synthetic precursors of insect melanin, have certain anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities, and have high medical development value.
With the increasing market demand, cicadas are in short supply in China, and the annual purchase price is getting higher and higher, and a pound can be sold for 70 or 80 yuan or even higher. Every summer, rural areas can also see many children and middle-aged and elderly women who specialize in picking cicadas.
So, does the American pink-eyed cicada metamorphosis have ideal medicinal value? This is the key to research and development. In addition to the pink-eyed cicada, other species of cicadas in the United States also have potential medical development value, and if they can be used rationally, it is entirely possible to turn waste into treasure and increase a considerable source of income and expenditure.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="27" > conclusion</h1>
Following 1987 and 2004, the largest 17-year cicada will once again sweep 15 states, and American residents will once again experience an unforgettable summer.
Matt Carson, an associate professor at West Virginia University, is currently working on fungi that can parasitize cicadas for 17 years, and this biological control may provide a breakthrough for cicada plagues. However, some people said that cyclical cicadas are an important part of the ecosystem, providing the necessary food for the survival of other animals, and artificial removal of cicadas is not conducive to ecological balance.
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