Lou Gu (Mole Cricket) (Head and thorax are tea-brown, wings are membranous, abdomen is wrinkled and light yellow)
Lou Gu (Mole Cricket) (Head and body separated)
[Name]
[Source]
Shen Nong’s Herbal Classic, Lower Grade – Lou Gu (Mole Cricket)
[Frequency of Use]
F
[Botanical Origin]
It is the dried whole body of the mole cricket, Gryllotalpa africana Palisot et Beauvois, an insect of the Gryllotalpidae family.
[Characteristics]
The dried insect body is mostly broken and rarely complete. The complete one is about 3cm long. The head and thorax are tea-brown, mixed with black-brown; the compound eyes are black and shiny; the wings are membranous, mostly broken, and the feet are often broken and incomplete. The abdomen is wrinkled and light yellow, some are black-brown. Sparsely covered with short fluff, or hairless, soft in texture, and easily broken. It has a peculiar fishy odor.
[Identification]
The best are those that are dry, complete, without impurities and soil.
[Category]
Invertebrates