Chinese medicine Di Gu Niu, also known as ant lion or golden sand cow, is the larva of the antlion in the family Myrmeleontidae. It is distributed in South China, Taiwan, Sichuan, and other regions. It has the effects of promoting urination, stopping malaria, detoxification, and removing decay. So what are the quality requirements for Di Gu Niu?
Picture of Di Gu Niu
【Quality Requirements for Di Gu Niu】
Origin: Produced in various cities and counties in Guangdong Province, such as Conghua, Huidong, Zijin, Heping, Qujiang, Wengyuan, Nanxiong, Shixing, Lechang, Renhua, Guangning, Zhuhai, Doumen, Meixian, Jiangmen, Maoming, Zhanjiang, etc.
Collection and processing of Di Gu Niu: It is suitable to capture during the high temperature of summer and autumn. After capture, it is stir-fried with hot sand until it expands, then removed and sifted to remove the sand.
Characteristics: The body is coarse and grain-like, with a length of 0.7-1 centimeters, yellow-brown or light brown, and covered with short hairs.
The head has pincer-like mandibles. The abdomen is slightly swollen or slightly swollen due to stir-frying, with several ring-like patterns and visible black spots.
There are 3 pairs of thoracic legs. The head and legs have mostly fallen off due to stir-frying. The body is light and brittle. It has a slight fishy smell and a slightly salty taste.
Quality requirements: It is best to have a large and swollen body, yellow-brown in color, and intact without breakage.
【Recipe for Di Gu Niu Pickles】
Ingredients: Di Gu Niu.
Seasoning: Spices, salt, rock sugar, pickle juice.
Method: Wash and dry the Di Gu Niu, then soak it in pickle juice with salt, spices, and rock sugar for 3 days. Remove and consume. No additional seasoning is needed when eating.
【Original Form of Di Gu Niu】
Di Gu Niu: Yellow-footed antlion, with a body length of 32mm and a wingspan of 73mm. The body is slender and resembles a dragonfly. The head is wider than the prothorax, with two compound eyes brown in color, the head is black, the mouthparts are yellow, and the antennae are black and club-shaped, with the pedicel segment being yellow.
The prothorax is yellow, with two wide brown longitudinal bands on the back, and long yellow hairs on the prothorax. The mesothorax and metathorax are black, significantly larger than the prothorax. The legs are yellow and have long yellow hairs. The wings are transparent, with a faint iridescent color and delicate wing membrane.
The shape and size of the forewings and hindwings are similar, with yellow wing veins. The abdomen is dark brown. The larva resembles a spider, with a body length of 6-18mm, ranging from yellowish-brown to dirty white, with black-brown markings;
There are scattered and clustered black-brown stiff hairs on the body, with a pair of pincer-like mandibles on the head, no wings, and three pairs of thoracic legs, with a relatively large abdomen.
