Identification & Quality Standard
Ootheca Mantidis
Botanical Origin
The dried egg and case of Tenodera sinensis Saussure, Statilia maculate (Thunberg) or Hierodula patellifera (Serville).(Mantidae). Also called ‘tuan piao xiao’, ‘chang piao xiao’, and ‘hei piao xiao’. Harvest from the late autumn to the following spring, removed foreign matter, boil to kill insect egg, and then dry.
Production Regions
Produced in most areas of China.
Quality Requirements
Superior medicinal material is intact, yellow, light and pliable texture, and the eggs have not hatched.
Macroscopic Features
Tuan piao xiao: Slightly cylindrical or half-spherical, formed from many layers of membranous thin flakes,2.5~4cm long. Wide 2~3cm. Externally pale yellowish-brown, upper side has indistinct belt-like bulge, bottom side is flat or has a slightly indented groove. Light, loose and pliable texture, sponge-like outer layer can be seen on the fractured surface, inner layer has many small chambers in a radial arrangement, each chamber has one tiny oval-shaped egg, deep brown and lustrous. Slightly fishy odor, tasteless or slightly salty taste. Chang piao xiao: Long strip-like, one end is relatively thin, 2.5~5cm long, 1~1.5cm wide. Externally grayish-yellow, upper side has obvious strip-like bulge, with one dark brown shallow groove and slope line on each side. Hard and brittle texture. Hei piao xiao: Slightly parallel quadrilateral, 2~4cm long, 1.5~2cm wide. Externally grayish-brown, upper side has obvious bulge, both sides has slope line, near-the-tail end is slightly up-raised. Hard and pliable texture.
