Mr. Le Van Phuong, residing in Tan Lap commune, Dong Phu district (Binh Phuoc) said that after many long months of intense sunshine, termite mushrooms sprouted after the cool rains at the beginning of the season. This fungus is special in that, they only appear in places where termites nest, from the footprints of workers passing through. The new umbrella termite mushroom, which grows naturally in the forest, has the highest price. “During the process of crawling around the nest, worker termites leave behind a saliva-like substance. After the rain, this substance grows fragrant mushrooms. Those who went to pick mushrooms at night, before they could see the mushrooms, smelled the sweet aroma of mushrooms at the top of the forest,” Phuong shared. According to Mr. Phuong, the termite mushroom season only lasts a few months and emerges from the ground at about 2-3 am and withers in the early afternoon. Therefore, people take advantage of going into the forest at midnight to look for mushrooms. People who use flashlights, those who shine motorbikes run into the forest, to rubber lots or cashew fields to look at mushrooms all night. Those who go to shave rubber will be the first to encounter termites because the work of tapping latex is usually done at night. However, once you see the mushrooms, you have to know how to pick them to get all the mushrooms and sell them at a high price. “We had to use very strong wooden sticks, as small as fingers, to poke the mushrooms. In the early morning, the new mushroom sprouted its head on the ground, so the body was still lying on the ground. Therefore, using a stick to poke down, lift the whole mushroom body up. Especially do not use iron rods because the next season the mushrooms do not grow again, it takes time to find other places, “said Phuong. Those who go to pick mushrooms must use a sharp tree to get the body of the termite mushroom deep in the ground. In the past, people went to pick mushrooms just to stir-fry with melon or melon tops as food for their families. Seeing that the mushroom is crispy, more delicious than any other mushroom, plus many people know the great taste and value of the forest termite mushroom, so the mushroom is purchased at a high price, from 700 to 900,000 VND/kg. Therefore, many people stayed up at night to look for termites. In each termite mushroom season, Ms. Cao Thi Thuy, residing in Tan Phu ward, City. Dong Xoai (Binh Phuoc) all drive back to their hometown in Bu Dang to look for mushrooms. According to Ms. Thuy, termite mushrooms have 2 types, white body and black body. The black body is tough, crispy, sweeter than the white one, so the price is also higher. “Mushrooms are very fragrant. Going to look for mushrooms, just need to be sharp, you will smell the faint aroma of termite mushrooms somewhere. Holding the searchlight around, you will see small dim light spots of the mushroom, “said Ms. Thuy. People use motorcycle lights to pick mushrooms. According to Ms. Thuy, the price of termite mushrooms in recent years has always been sky-high. If 3 years ago it was only 450,000 VND/kg, last year it was 700,000 VND/kg. This year, at the beginning of the season, selling to people around the area is also 750,000 VND/kg. After each heavy rain, the lucky person can pick a few kilograms of mushrooms, making a few million easily. In recent years, grasping the market demand in big cities, many people in Dong Phu practice “dealing with termites”. Instead of going to the forest with a lamp to pick mushrooms every night, all day they drive hundreds of kilometers across areas considered to have many termites to buy and collect goods. Mr. Nguyen Huu Mieu in Thuan Loi commune, Dong Phu district, who has been trading in termite mushrooms for 7 years, said that this fungus is hunted by consumers everywhere. In particular, they only buy forest termite mushrooms. Termite mushrooms are hunted by traders everywhere with high prices. Only by purchasing termite mushrooms, 3 members of Mr. Mieu’s family can earn about 3 million VND/day. This year, if mushrooms are still abundant and the price of mushrooms is as high as now, the income of mushroom traders like him will definitely be higher. According to medicine, mushrooms are rich in calcium, phosphorus, iron, protein and other nutrients that are very good for health, especially people with diabetes, the sick and the elderly. Eating termite mushrooms regularly can improve immunity against cancer cells, anti-aging… Delicious dishes made from termite mushrooms are very simple and rustic, such as: pancakes filled with termite mushrooms, fried termite mushrooms, termite mushroom soup, termite mushroom porridge…

Ms. Tran Thuy, an account specializing in selling cicada nymphs in Hanoi, said this year the price of cicada nymphs has decreased compared to last year. “In 2020, there is a time when the price of cicadas up to 450,000-500,000 VND / kg, still not enough to sell, but this year the price of this item tends to be cheaper,” she said. According to her, from the end of April to the beginning of May, the cicadas are in the infancy stage and have not yet grown wings. “At this time, the nymphs are fat, soft, and fragrant,” Thuy said. In recent years, cicadas pupae have become a special specialty for many people as well as restaurants and pubs. Photo: Ha Tran. This dealer said that cicada nymphs each time in the season are very attractive to buyers, especially drinkers. “Many people buy a kilo to try and then order another 2.3 kg,” she said, saying that at the beginning of the season, the price is quite high, in the middle and the end of the season, the price will cool down. At her shop, type 1 vacuum cicadas pupae cost 400,000 VND / kg, type 2 costs 300,000 VND / kg. Explaining the reason why cicadas nymphs are quite expensive, she said: “Because the process of hunting cicadas is very complicated and takes a lot of time during the night, sometimes it takes to go all night to hunt one kg of nymphs, so there is a price. high”. Similarly, Ms. Bui Vinh (Dong Phu, Binh Phuoc) said that cicada nymphs at the beginning of the season have just molted, the cicada’s body is still very young and newly emerging wings are difficult to catch, so they are rare and high priced. “In the past, people mainly collected nymphs to eat, but gradually the market demand was increasing so they started to pupate them for sale,” she said. Ms. Vinh said that the cicadas that came from the ground up and clung to the tree trunk after 5-7 minutes will molt, then I just need to light the lamp and catch. After getting soaked in salt water for 20-30 minutes, then remove the wings, cover with boiling water once and rinse. “Every season, my neighbors and I go together to catch nymphs and sell to earn extra income. Just a flashlight and a bucket of clean water diluted with salt can go hunting nymphs,” she said. Currently a kg of cicada nymphs she sells wholesale prices ranging from 190,000 to 250,000 VND / kg, depending on the type and time. “Customers, pubs often have to pre-order to have products. Many days, I cannot sell enough goods,” said the trader. Cicada nymphs do quite a lot of delicious dishes that are loved by many people. Photo: Chu Hanh. Roasted cicada pupa with lemon leaves is a favorite dish every summer for many people drinking. “During a drink, I was introduced to this dish by a friend, so I became addicted since then, every year to season, I find people to order”, Mr. Dung (Thanh Xuan, Hanoi) shared. “One kg of young mite pupae is quite a lot, I buy 2.3 kg ready to divide into small bags for the refrigerator to eat gradually, each bag about 200-250 grams of processing up to be filled with a plate,” he said. Although it is a strange product sought by many drinkers, users should be careful when choosing, preliminarily processing and processing cicadas nymphs to avoid harm to their health. Before that, in May 2019 in Quang Ninh, a man was hospitalized with anaphylactic shock after drinking alcohol and eating cicadas. Doctors diagnose the patient with degree III anaphylaxis due to eating cicadas, emergency treatment according to anaphylactic shock regimen. Notably, a man in Binh Phuoc died from eating young cicadas in May 2014. According to some experts, cicada nymphs live in the soil environment, so there is a high risk of infection and parasitic fungus. In particular, some poisonous mushrooms are dangerous to users. Therefore, people should use caution.