White wax insect or pe-la insect with alias of “wax insect” is one of Chinese distinctive insect resources. It belongs to Insecta and dioecism insect. Trigamous insect has no wing and the distinctions between metameres are not obvious. Nymphae-state tiny insect has wing and the distinctions between metameres are obvious. There are such three warm periods as egg, nymphae and imago in the live of trigamous insect, which belongs to incomplete metamorphosis category. There are such four warm phases as egg, larva, nymphae and imago in the live of male worm, which belongs to complete metamorphosis category. The male worm secretes wax and the trigamous insect goes through sexual reproduction, raises up seeds and yields seed-worm. Male and trigamous worms play the same important role in the production of white wax. White wax worm breeds one generation annually. The trigamous imago lays about 7000 eggs in March to April (ratio of male vs. trigamous is about 1:3). The egg hatches into larva in April to May, trigamous worms stay on the leaves separately and male worms stay on the undersurface of leaves. After 20 days, the larva exuviates into two-instar larva and leaves for staying on the branches, trigamous worms disperse and male worm live in groups. Two-instar male larva can secrete waxiness. Larva pupates in August; pupa emerges into male imago in the first ten days of September. The male imago seeks trigamous worm for copulation then die after 5~10 days. Two-instar trigamous larva grows into imago in August and its body grows up gradually after copulation. After living through the winer, mating trigamous imago lays eggs in the coming March to April and then die. The eggs in the eggshell are the seed worm of white wax insect. The plants on which the white wax worm stays are Chinese Ash and Privet trees. The white wax secreted by white wax insect is high-quality animal wax with melting point as high as 81~85℃. The wax is widely applied in chemical & pharmaceutical industry due to its harder quality together with whiteness color, good transparency, stable physical & chemical capability, strong coagulating power, odourlessness, tasteless & lubricating.

Breeding of white wax insect & collecting of wax flower:

1. Collecting:
It is the necessary & sufficient guarantee for increasing white wax’s production to combine superior seed worm, vigorous host plants & management technology with each other. The wax insect should be picked from the tree, known as “pick insect”, when the insect grows up between Grain Rain and Summer Begin.

2. Unfolding & drying in the shade:
After seed insect being picked, put it on the mat lined with a layer of clean paper in a shade, airy, dry & cool room and have it unfolded and dried.

3. Wrapping worm:
To wrap 1~5 worms into a group by the leaf of tung tree, straw or the leaf of corn after most trigamous worms hatch.

4. Hanging & management of white seed insect:
After more than 80% wrapped larva having hatched, hang them on the host plants so that insect can parasitizes on them and secretes wax. Scientific management is needed to guarantee yield.

5. Collecting & processing of crude wax:
After 100 days from the time of male worm being hung on & climbing on the host tree, it is time to collect the crude wax. After collection, have the crude wax processed by unique techniques. In general, 100Kgs wax flowers can produce 80~120Kgs crude wax.