With the deepening research on traditional Chinese medicine, people have started to use more traditional Chinese medicine. Di Gu Niu is the dried body of the larvae of the antlion, an ant species. It is mainly collected by sieving the sand in the habitat of the antlion during the summer and autumn seasons. After capture, it is lightly stir-fried until the body of the insect expands to a certain degree.
Picture of Di Gu Niu
[Introduction of Di Gu Niu]
Also known as: Dao Tu Che, Dao Tui Niu, Di Gu Niu, Shan Lao Niu, Yi Shi, Yi Di Yu, Di Gong, Sha Shi, Sha Zha Zi, Yao Yao Guo, Sha Niu, Dao Hou Chong, Tui Tui Wo Wo, Ah Lou Lou
Source: Live or dried whole body of the antlion larvae, a member of the family Myrmeleontidae in the order Neuroptera. It is dug out from sandy soil in spring and autumn, and is dried or used fresh.
Appearance: The insect body is yellow or dirty brown, mostly semi-transparent. The visceral part is very small, and there are black-brown patterns on the body.
Taste: Spicy, salty, neutral, toxic
Meridian attribution: Bladder meridian
Storage: Store in a cool and dry place
[Original animal morphology of Di Gu Niu]
Di Gu Niu: Yellow-footed antlion, 32mm in length, wingspan 73mm. The body is slender, resembling a dragonfly. The head is wider than the prothorax, with brown compound eyes, a black head, yellow mouthparts, and black antennae. The scape is yellow.
The prothorax is yellow with two wide brown longitudinal bands on the dorsal side. The prothorax has long yellow hairs. The mesothorax and metathorax are black and clearly larger than the prothorax. The legs are yellow and have long yellow hairs. The wings are transparent, with a faint iridescent color, and the wing membranes are delicate.
The shape and size of the fore and hind wings are similar, and the wing veins are yellow. The abdomen is dark brown. The larvae resemble spiders, with a body length of 6-18mm, ranging from yellowish-brown to dirty white, with black-brown patterns;
There are scattered and clustered black-brown stiff hairs on the body, and the head has a pair of pincer-like mandibles. They are wingless and have 3 pairs of thoracic legs, with a relatively large abdomen.
