The cicada, also known as the singing cicada, autumn cicada, and cicada, is a member of the insect family Cicadidae. It is documented in the "Shennong Bencao Jing". It is the whole body of the insect species Cryptotympana pustulata Fabr. It is captured from June to July each year, and after capture, it is steamed to death and dried.
【Processing Method】"Tai Ping Sheng Hui Fang": "Remove the wings, legs, and lightly stir-fry." At present, the original medicinal material is taken, impurities are removed, and ash debris is sieved.
【Appearance of the herbal medicine】It is elongated and measures 4-4.5 cm in length and 1.8-2 cm in width. The surface is mostly black, and the edges of the ventral surface are light yellowish-brown with a glossy appearance. The head is flat and wide, with compound eyes, elliptical and bulging, yellowish-brown, and translucent. The back has membranous wings, transparent, with obvious wing veins, and light yellowish-brown, often already broken. The upper end of the thorax and abdomen has three pairs of legs, which are mostly broken. The male cicada has a pair of heart-shaped sound organs at the lower end, while the female cicada does not have sound organs and has a smaller abdomen with an ovipositor. The tail end is blunt and triangular, with segments on the back and abdomen. The body is light and fragile. It has a slight fishy smell and a mild taste.
【Processing properties】The cicada is salty and sweet in taste, and cold in nature. It belongs to the liver and lung meridians. It has the functions of clearing heat, suppressing wind, and calming seizures. It is used for childhood fever, convulsions, epilepsy, night crying, and migraine. In ancient times, the internal use of this herb often involved calcining or stir-frying and baking, such as the use of cicada powder for the treatment of fever and palpitations in children ("Tai Ping Sheng Hui Fang"); the use of cicada powder for the treatment of infantile epilepsy and eye twitching ("Tai Ping Sheng Hui Fang"); the use of cicada powder for the treatment of seizures within the first hundred days after birth ("Pu Ji Fang"); the combination of cicada with hook vine for the treatment of childhood epilepsy and night crying ("Ben Cao Hui Yan"); the combination of cicada with white atractylodes and radish seed for the treatment of malnutrition in children, emaciation, fatigue, and loss of appetite ("Shanghai Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine", 1990). It can also be used externally. For example, using fresh cicada, frankincense, and cinnabar, extracting the juice from the cicada, and making them into small pills the size of mung beans. It is inserted into the nose to treat migraines. When experiencing headaches, insert the pill into the nostril on the side of the pain. The appearance of yellow-green water indicates effectiveness ("Tai Ping Sheng Hui Fang").
