Commercial ca cuong cultivation model in Thanh Son (Phu Tho province).

DNHN - In the Thong Nhat area, Thanh Son town, and Thanh Son district (Phu Tho), the family of Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Hien has developed a model for breeding and commercial ca cuong farming, resulting in high economic efficiency.

Ca Cuong (scientific name: Beltone indicia; common names: cinnamon worm, da Cuong) is a species of insect belonging to the half-wing beetle (semi-hard, half-soft), flat body, and living in water or semi-terrestrial water such as ponds, swamps, or rice fields, canals. They hide beneath the water during the day to hunt, and only flap their wings at night.

Ca Cuong's sweet, spicy, neutral, and non-toxic flavor confers kidney tonic, yang, and digestive advantages. Because ca cuong is delicious and "rare and difficult to find," it has long been sought after by restaurants to be prepared into specialty dishes.

Mrs. Hien and her husband, Mr. Hai, initially purchased 50 pairs of ca cuong seeds from the provinces of Hai Duong and Bac Ninh. By November 2022, the Provincial Department of Fisheries had assisted and guided her family with a technical procedure and 50 pairs of Ca Cuong parents. Since then, they've adhered to the technical process of breeding and commercializing ca Cuong, resulting in a substantial increase in economic efficiency.

On an area of approximately 70 square meters, Ms. Hien's family has constructed one incubation tank and ten commercial ca cuong tanks by the cycle process of rearing, caring for the parents that lay eggs, transporting them to the incubation tank, rearing them to maturity, and selling them.

Ms. Hien explained that Ca Cuong is an insect that can live both on land and in water, capturing aggressive prey. The food is simple; simply drop fish, prawns, crickets, or small frogs into the tank for the insect to hunt. It is not difficult to raise and care for Ca Cuong, but it is necessary to provide a clean water source, a clean food source, and a cool environment for Ca Cuong to reproduce and develop properly. The amount of food in the tank is maintained daily at a level proportional to the amount, size, and age of cassava.

Ms. Hien's family currently sells approximately 1,000 commercial ca cuong per month for 50,000 VND/head; 150,000 VND/pair of seeds, and egg nests; minus expenses for a profit of 25,000 VND/head. Many individuals come to study and imitate her family's example.

Mr. Luu Van Bien, Deputy Head of the Technical Department of the Provincial Fisheries Sub-Department, stated, "The essential oil in the stomach of male ca cuong is a valuable seasoning that is frequently added to fish sauce and traditional dishes such as vermicelli, vermicelli, fish cake, banh cuon... In addition to its use in food processing, ca cuong has numerous health benefits. Along with the urbanization process, the Department has learned that the number of increasingly rare fishery products has been raised from the outside, through external research., breeding, initially experimented and transferred, guiding households to successfully raise reproductive and commercial ca Cuong".

P.V