What insects do people eat? Edible insects for survival in extreme situations, catching and cooking

When it comes to eating insects for food, many people see a picture like the one in the photo before their eyes, followed by an oath: “Never!” I hasten to reassure you: you won’t have to eat this beautiful Madagascar cockroach. And I’ll surprise you: we already eat insects, constantly and quite successfully. True, it’s still unconscious.

- A person eats at least 5 kilograms of insects in his life, most of them alive, without noticing it at all, - CEO State Research and Production Association "Scientific and Practical Center of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus for Bioresources" Oleg Borodin is a competent source on this matter: he is an entomologist with an academic degree, so it is better for the impressionable to come to terms with it right away.

- Larvae, live insects, worms enter the body in many ways, mainly with food - vegetables, fruits, berries. Many of them do not have hard coverings, so we don’t even chew them,- continues the scientist. - Recently, in a store, I saw a picture: a whole colony of aphids was sitting in a salad. They Green colour due to the fact that their food is rich in chlorophyll. If I were not an entomologist, I simply would not have seen them. I am sure that most people would calmly cut such a salad, and undetected insects would easily end up on their plate.

The interest that brought the correspondent of the Belarusian Green Portal to the Scientific and Practical Center of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus for Bioresources, oddly enough, is related to food. In short: the world's population is growing, there is not enough food for everyone, as evidenced by numerous studies. Currently, about 30% of the total area of the Earth is used for raising livestock. In addition, livestock farming is one of the main sources of greenhouse gases leading to global warming.

Scientists regard the use of insects as a possible promising direction for solving food problem, in particular, obtaining protein for nutrition. Of course, the idea of eating worms and larvae in the context of domestic cooking looks a bit outlandish, but let's figure it out. And Oleg Borodin will help us with this.

In his opinion, the first and main problem on the way of insects to our table lies on the psychological plane. This barrier is difficult to break, and there is no need, Borodin believes.

- The consumption of insects as food is not intended in the sense in which it is served in various kinds MASS MEDIA. All insects are only a source of substance. Such a substance can be prepared in any convenient form that is understandable to every person. After all, no one takes a chicken and eats it right with the feathers? There is a prejudice towards insects: since they are eaten as food, they are taken straight with their legs and wings - eat, dear comrade. This is exactly how it is presented in many reports about exotic food. Although such a format is, of course, not excluded,- he says. - As part of the work of the student research laboratory of the structure and dynamics of biodiversity, working at the Department of Zoology of the BSU, sometimes a “Gourmet Day” is held, where we prepare such exotic things. Thanks to word of mouth, there were about 80 people at the last event.

The next important issue is the effect of insect meat on human health. Many properly prepared varieties contain not just a lot of protein and little fat, but also contain many rare and useful elements, a set of which can only be obtained with expensive exotic fruits, and sometimes only in pharmaceutical form.

“We are still working on the question of how to use this resource to obtain feed protein for livestock farming. Research has been conducted regarding chemical composition, the energy value of insects as food for farm animals, and the effect turned out to be very positive. As for the impact on humans, the issue has not been specifically studied. Therefore, there is no reason to claim any negative impact. But it is impossible to simply extrapolate the results of the studies to people, although such work is planned. Still a question of funding!- notes the interlocutor.

What exactly is the benefit of eating insects?

- In terms of costs, the rule “1 kg of feed equals 100 grams of the final product” is observed in any case. But classical livestock farming requires huge fields, expensive feed, time, energy, water and other resources. In the case of insects, everything is different. The biofactory will have an incomparably smaller area, essentially representing a closed box. In a closed ecosystem, with minimal areas and the absence of natural regulators (diseases, predators), the cultivated mass of insects reaches colossal values, which makes it possible to obtain a large number of protein in a very short time,- says the entomologist.

- But speed is not everything. Instead of expensive food, insects can receive something that would otherwise go to landfill: various organic waste. By the way, such a project (entomodegradation) was launched within the framework of the “100 Ideas for Belarus” company, where it reached the finals,- the scientist develops the idea.

According to him, for various types waste intended different types insects that will actually utilize them. The output will be not only feed protein, but also biologically active substances: chitosan, pigments, components for the pharmaceutical and cosmetology industries.

- What do we have on this moment? People come to us who are trying to put these technologies into practice. The problem is that a number of issues need to be clearly addressed in preliminary scientific research. This way we will get specific developments that can be implemented with additional funding. Now we are all at the stage of developing these methods, with the selection of certain types, identifying their energy value, chemical composition, etc., - Oleg Borodin emphasizes. - On the basis of our center for bioresources, we plan to open a laboratory complex, where both a demonstration line for processing organic waste into protein material will operate, and the source material will be accumulated for its subsequent implementation in practice.

Finally, I wanted to ask a couple of personal questions.

-Have you eaten insects yourself?

- I ate everything from annelids. The main thing is to cook it correctly.

- And raw and alive?

- No, I don’t see the need for this. As a biologist, I am well aware that insects are potential sources of pathogens infectious diseases, even if they are unspecialized carriers.

- How does it taste? What does it look like?

- It all depends on the preparation. When we conducted “blind surveys”, people said that it tasted like shrimp, like fish, and a specific, unlike anything else taste. At the same time, there were never any negative reviews.

Reference: there are about 1400 on our planet edible species insects In more than 90 countries they are regularly eaten in one form or another.

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Insects for food

In conditions of extreme survival, when a person is without food for a long time and loses a lot of weight, protein food is simply necessary. But it can be very difficult to get it, especially in the absence of skills and the necessary “tools”. Lost in the taiga or mixed forest, a person is not always armed and able to hunt large and medium-sized game. Hunting for small game and fishing may not bring the desired results, but this fact does not negate the need for protein. Then, you have to pay attention to insects and their larvae.

Many will twirl their finger at their temple and say I won’t eat this, but most likely only a well-fed person will say this, and when you are on the verge of life and death from hunger, any crawling creature can be seen as an exquisite delicacy.
Insects have a lot of protein. This is the main thing! Yes, we are not all residents of Southeast Asia, and insects, worms, and larvae are far from a delicacy for us. However, there are times when you should put aside your disgust and eat. Survival in the taiga is just such a case.

So, what insects are edible and suitable for food, where to look for them

Ants.

Most types of scorpions are also edible and absolutely edible after heat treatment. But flies, their larvae and other insects that come into contact with animal feces cannot be eaten. Even heat treatment will not guarantee getting rid of the infection.

Experts from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization agreed with scientists that people should be persuaded to eat insects instead of meat. First, crickets and grasshoppers have as much protein as a cut of steak meat. Secondly, their cultivation is much cheaper and requires less space.

Experts note that about 1,400 species of insects are edible for humans. They are eaten in 36 African, 29 Asian and 23 countries in the Americas. Moreover, in some countries insects are considered a delicacy, in others insects form part of the daily diet.

(Total 11 photos)

1. In many cultures around the world, insects, a protein-rich food, are an important part of the daily diet. And now in Europe there are restaurants that serve insect dishes.

2. But in China you can see fried locusts everywhere, which are sold on wooden sticks.

3. Many people in different parts of the world consider locusts to be a real disaster. But not the Mexicans. In Mexico, especially in its southern regions, in addition to all kinds of tortillas, you will also find fried locusts wrapped in unleavened tortillas.

4. And if in Mexico you can buy fried insects simply from a street vendor’s tray, then in other Western countries such dishes are more of a delicacy, served in expensive restaurants. For example, the New York Explorers Club restaurant annually hosts a reception during which insect dishes are served.

5. The Chinese talk about their gastronomic tastes with humor: “We eat everything that flies, except an airplane, everything that has four legs, except a table and chairs.” Of course, China is ahead of the rest when it comes to insect consumption. Many restaurants specialize exclusively in dishes made from insects.

6. For many people, just the thought of eating this mountain of larvae can cause severe disgust.

7. But the Chinese are less squeamish. They are ready to eat even fried scorpions on skewers. After all, taste is the main thing...

8. This is truly exotic for tourists, but for locals it is absolutely commonplace: everything that crawls will be used for food.

Let's see what they offer us:

Eaten: Asia and parts of the US
Tastes: Like asparagus
Cooking method: boil or fry like shrimp

Wasp larvae

Eaten: in Japan
Taste: Sweet and crunchy
Cooking method: with soy sauce and sugar

Scorpios

Eaten: in Vietnam, Thailand, China
Taste: Like crab or shrimp
Cooking method: on skewers, fried in oil

Red ants

Eaten: in Thailand
Taste: like lemon
Method of preparation: adding to salads

Caterpillars

Eaten: in Botswana, South Africa, Zimbabwe
Taste: oily
Cooking method: dried or smoked, served with sauce

Larvae of the longhorned beetle of the species Prionoplus reticularis

Eaten: in New Zealand
Tastes: Like peanut butter
Method of preparation: eaten raw

Eaten: in Vietnam, China, Korea
Taste: Like dried shrimp

Tarantulas

Eaten: in Cambodia and Venezuela
Tastes: like crab
Method of preparation: fried in oil with salt and sugar

Dragonflies

Eaten: in Indonesia
Tastes: like crab
Cooking method: boiled or fried

Eaten: in Mexico
Taste: Like cinnamon
Method of preparation: ground with chili or as a filling for this

Palm weevil:

Eaten: in Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia
Tastes like coconut when raw, like bacon when cooked.
Cooking method: raw or fried on skewers

Eaten: West Africa, Australia, parts of South America
Tastes: like carrots
Cooking method: fried

Grasshoppers

Eaten: in Mexico
Taste: salty and spicy
Cooking method: fried with chili and lime

Ant eggs

Eaten: in Mexico
Taste: Oily and nut-like
Method of preparation: boiled or fried in butter, usually eaten in tacos

Water bugs

Eaten: Thailand

Method of preparation: In Thailand, for example, they prefer fried water beetles.

It is believed that scorpions taste very much like crabs, cooked water beetles are indistinguishable from scallop fillets, Madagascar cockroaches resemble ham, ants have a pleasant subtle sour taste, and salted dried locusts and grasshoppers are an excellent snack for beer.

And not only adherents of exotic Asian cuisine, where often due to the poverty of the population or established traditions, eating insects constitute the daily diet of most local residents, think so, not at all. In Europe and America, these delicacies are also considered quite fashionable, modern and in demand. After all, the problem of replacing expensive meat on our tables with something more affordable is creeping up and is very noticeable.

Thus, in Germany there are special restaurants that include insect dishes in their menu. In the United States, insect dinners are periodically organized for visitors to fashionable establishments (for example, the famous Travelers Club).

Have you heard about casu marzu? Well, of course, this is the most famous Italian cheese with larvae (by the way, it is also an aphrodisiac)! And in the Netherlands today there are even high-tech farms for breeding food insects, where parties with food are held. They also recently published an entire cookbook on “insect eating” with the involvement of culinary authorities and eminent scientists who advocate healthy image life.

Well, did you convince me to try it? In any case, we think that many will be at least interested in learning about the traditions and recipes for insect dishes. After all, these arthropods form the basis of nutrition for hundreds of thousands of people in hundreds of countries around the world. So, what do they cook in the world from beetles and spiders?

It just so happens that the traditions of entomophagy have taken root most in Asian cuisine. Most likely, due to the scarcity of the animal world there. Even in ancient times, it is unlikely that even an unpretentious European would have exchanged a well-fed rabbit or a fat capon (or even a fried pigeon or a rat) for a dish of the most beautiful locusts or grasshoppers. But in Asia there’s nothing - they eat it and even praise it. And not only locusts, fortunately, today about one and a half thousand species of arthropods are considered edible: dragonflies, swimming beetles, scorpions, bamboo worms, ants, tarantulas, various larvae...

So, from the main dishes we offer you:

quiche pies and pancakes stuffed with insects, as well as pizzas with maggots;
flatbreads and buns with locust baked in them;
spiders and grasshoppers fried in batter or simply without anything;
ant egg soup;
steamed or grilled scorpions;
earthworm cutlets;
bee and wasp larvae boiled with sugar and soy sauce;
smoked caterpillars;
pates from any insects with spices and white wine;
mealworm and vegetable stew;
cheese with cheese fly larvae;
kebab made from longhorn beetle larvae.

And this is not a tenth or even a hundredth of the recipes for insect dishes; there is simply no point in listing everything. In many Asian countries you can try such delights not only in restaurants and cafes, but literally everywhere - on the beach, at street hawkers, at the market. However, not only in Asian ones: the same cheese with larvae is an invention of Sardinian culinary specialists, it is even officially its cultural heritage.

Dessert

Many people won’t believe it, but local craftsmen have even learned to make desserts from insects! However, remember the Bible - John the Baptist himself feasted on locusts with wild honey. Our contemporaries are not lagging behind either. How about, for example, ants in chocolate glaze, ice cream made from mealworms and rum, dragonflies in coconut oil with sugar, chocolate pralines with darkling beetle larvae, rice crackers with ground wasps, scorpion lollipops and chocolate nut cookies with crickets?

All these desserts are quite common in many countries and are in excellent demand. They say that it is very tasty and healthy - such sweets strengthen the immune system and fill you with energy. In addition, they look unusual and will certainly become a highlight festive table. Moreover, you can try them not only in exotic places, in distant Bali and somewhere else, but also in Japan, which is quite traditional in the opinion of a European.

We hope that after reading the article you are convinced that the beetle is not as scary as it is sometimes portrayed... in cookbooks.

In many cultures around the world, insects, a protein-rich food, are an important part of the daily diet. And now in Europe there are restaurants that serve insect dishes.

But in China you can see fried locusts everywhere, which are sold on wooden sticks.

But the Chinese are less squeamish. They are ready to eat even fried scorpions on skewers. After all, taste is the main thing...

The Chinese talk about their gastronomic tastes with humor: “We eat everything that flies, except for an airplane, everything that has four legs, except for tables and chairs.” Of course, China is ahead of the rest when it comes to insect consumption. Many restaurants specialize exclusively in dishes made from insects.

For many people, just the thought of eating this mountain of larvae can cause extreme disgust.

Looking for a snack between meals? How do you like this deep-fried spider? Residents of Cambodia really like it.

And if in Mexico you can buy fried insects simply from a street vendor’s tray, then in other Western countries such dishes are more of a delicacy, served in expensive restaurants. For example, the New York Explorers Club restaurant annually hosts a reception during which insect dishes are served.

Many people in different parts of the world consider locusts to be a real disaster. But not the Mexicans. In Mexico, especially in its southern regions, in addition to all kinds of tortillas, you will also find fried locusts wrapped in unleavened tortillas.

But not all scientists consider the looming threat so inevitable. For example, Arnold van Heys is already trying to find a solution to the problem by studying the possibilities of using insects as food for the future man. And he, it must be said, has a high opinion of the prospects of replenishing our regular menu with dishes from representatives of the most widespread class of living beings on the planet. Helping the Dutch professor bring the idea to the masses is chef Henk van Gurp, who develops recipes for dishes with insects. He also conducts special master classes where he teaches those who want to cook these strange, unusual dishes, but perhaps the most interesting thing is not the preparation, but the subsequent tasting of the delicacies.

The idea of a Dutch scientist trying to move various bugs and spiders from the category of delicacies for thrill-seekers to the category of popular and affordable food is not based at all on empty space. The English traveler Vincent Holt spoke about the fact that insects can be a complete source of proteins and microelements so necessary for the human body. In his book “Why Don’t We Eat Insects?” (1885) he recommended that readers diversify their usual diet with beetles, caterpillars and butterflies. And really, why not? Here is the approximate protein and fat content in various types edible insects (per 100 grams): dung beetles - 17.2 g and 3.8 g; in living caterpillars - 14.2 g and 1.2 g; grasshoppers – 20.6 g and 6.1 g; termites – 14.2 g and 2.2 g; bees 13.4 g and 1.4 g, respectively.

For comparison, a piece of beef of the same weight contains 23.5 g of protein and 21.2 g of fat. The appearance of insect dishes in the list of foods we eat is also supported by the fact that, in addition to such a favorable ratio of proteins and fats, insect food contains chitin. One of his many useful properties– help in cleansing the body. Chitin serves as the basis for the production of chitosan, an integral part of many weight loss products. Chitosan has many other beneficial properties, but let’s return to our insects. They are so useful that Japanese scientists presented a new diet for astronauts in July 2010 at the Space Congress held in Bremen. Its composition, as you probably guessed, also includes insects. By the way, the disgust characteristic of average residents of Europe or, say, England at the sight of baked larvae or ice cream with ants is not at all shared by natives of many countries in Asia, Africa, and Australia.

For them, these dishes are just another way to snack. In about a hundred countries, eating insects does not seem unusual today. In Thailand, for example, insect breeding is already carried out on an industrial scale. After all, this is a much less expensive and labor-intensive activity than, for example, raising pigs and chickens. You don't need large areas, and the insects eat immeasurably less. According to some forecasts, insect farms will soon become the main food producers in this country. Well, what about us? There are about a million species of insects known to science. There are even more unknowns, according to some scientists.

There are approximately 1,400 edible species out of this million. But this is also a lot. Is it really possible that due to the unfamiliarity of such food and a considerable amount of disgust, this currently inexhaustible source of nutrients is not for us? I think not, though. After all, if the benefits are obvious... An example of this is the Spanish fly, which was popular in the past in France and not only as an aphrodisiac, also known as ash fly. During the era of the great French Revolution, not a single drink designed to ignite passion could do without this component. And fashion also contributes to the popularization of insect eating. For example, in European countries you can find restaurants specializing only in this kind of delicacies. And visiting such establishments is becoming fashionable. For the first test, dishes are most often chosen where insects are used as a filling that is not visible to the neophyte. For example, it’s a little easier to put a cricket in chocolate glaze into your mouth than a fried cockroach.

One foreign company decided to sell fried ants.
But not ordinary ones, but giant Colombian ants, whose length reaches 2 centimeters.
The price of this delicacy is 20 US dollars.

And here are some more options...

In situations threatening hunger, we must not forget about the so-called non-traditional food products. It is stupid to condemn yourself to starvation just because the food around you has an unusual look, taste and smell. You can allow yourself to wince in disgust at the sight of a worm crawling out of an apple, but only at home, and not in conditions emergency situation. Here, if you want to survive, it’s better to get rid of old habits like disgust. And the sooner, the better for health. Therefore, if in such a difficult situation, to put it mildly, a completely wormy apple fell into the hands of the victim, you should not throw it away, but, on the contrary, you should eat it completely, to the last seed, and even the worm, sorry , be sure to catch and eat it, as it contains more calories than the apple itself. And this will be more than correct. Our ancestors, who lived in harsh conditions of struggle for their own existence, firmly grasped this unwritten law. Their menu, in terms of assortment, was much richer than ours. They ate everything. Well, let's just say, almost everything.

Not the worst diet can be made up of: garden and grape snails, slugs, earth and wood worms, smooth-skinned, that is, devoid of hair and chitin, caterpillars, cicadas, beetles and their larvae living in the ground and wood, as well as dragonfly larvae, as well as and dragonflies themselves, crawling and flying ants and other insects. In the water you can collect edible pond shells, pearl barley shells, water beetles and other aquatic insects.

In the recent past, grasshoppers dried and ground into flour were used by hermits escaping from worldly worries to bake bread cakes and prepare porridges. So if you come across the phrase “the hermits ate berries, mushrooms and locusts” in any book, know that the holy fathers consumed grasshoppers with considerable appetite. And, by the way, they acted wisely, because 100 g of food mass prepared from grasshoppers contains 225 calories - only slightly less than wheat bread. And 100 g of fried termites is 560 calories!

Many peoples inhabiting deserts revered locusts as a delicacy. The Chinese enjoy eating dried spiders. The Japanese, who do not experience much hunger, are dragonflies. The peoples of the South Asian region are generally distinguished by their amazing omnivorousness and use almost all the insects they encounter as food, from the most exotic, such as fried scorpions, revered as a delicacy, to purely domestic ones. And the mosquitoes! The ones that stick to your face and hands? They are also edible. And easily accessible. Just have time to hit yourself on the cheeks and lick off what’s left of them from your fingers. Or collect materials and cook a stew...

The most valuable food items are considered to be ants and their southern counterparts - termites, grasshoppers, locusts, crickets, some types of beetles, honey bees, and aquatic insects. For a person who finds himself in emergency conditions, the most accessible are sedentary snails, slugs, worms, and larvae, especially since they usually cluster in one place. Having found their habitat, it is not difficult to find them themselves in the required quantities. Jumping and flying insects are much more difficult to catch.

The easiest way to find insects is on the trunks of old and dead trees and stumps. By the way, these varieties of larvae are the most edible and, according to connoisseurs of oriental cuisine, delicious. To collect them, you need to carefully examine crevices, hollows and other depressions, tear off old bark and collect insects and their larvae from it. reverse side and from bare wood. In clearings and meadows, you can collect insects by looking at tall plants, on the stems and flowers of which you can easily notice cobweb cocoons, thickenings and similar defects in which larvae and caterpillars live. In addition, they can be found in plant seeds. For example, in the stems and prickly “heads” of the well-known burdock, a certain number of insects can be collected even in winter.

It is more convenient to catch grasshoppers in the morning, when it is cold, when they are inactive. It is better to look for soil insects in damp, shaded places, among rotten leaves, under stones, piles of dead wood and fallen tree trunks, at the bottom of dry puddles. Aquatic - naturally in water, at the bottom of lakes, rivers, streams, swamps, individual large puddles, among the vegetation surrounding them. The easiest way to find ants is in large piles of anthills, sometimes reaching a height of 1.5-2 m. But you can catch them “by smell” in jars and other containers placed near ant paths, into which you throw a small amount of food debris.

Ants are very good fried and baked. In addition, in anthills you can find caterpillars and their larvae stored for future use. Of particular value are the so-called honey, or sugar, ants, which serve as containers for storing nectar in anthills. They differ from worker ants by having a disproportionately large barrel-shaped abdomen filled with a sweet liquid. The most nutritious thing is not the ants themselves, but their larvae and pupae (or, as they are sometimes called, ant eggs), which resemble appearance white or yellow rice grains. The larvae can be collected by digging up the wall of a large anthill. In small anthills, it is often enough to lift a stone or a tree trunk covering it from above to find a whole deposit of ant eggs.

Many more pupae can be caught using a fabric trap. To do this, near the anthill, on a horizontal platform illuminated by the sun, you need to spread a large, 1 - 1.5 m2 piece of fabric, turn up all four of its corners and put twigs under them to form slit-like cavities. Then the upper part of the anthill is torn off and scattered in a thin layer on the fabric, under the rays of the sun. Saving the pupae from drying out, the ants quickly drag them under the folded edges of the fabric. At night, insects can be caught by the light of a lantern, a candle, or a piece of white, preferably illuminated, rag spread on the ground. During the day - using a net made from any available material. Knock down to the ground using removed clothing. Or simply carefully cut and shake off grass and shrubs over the material.

Aquatic insects - various water beetles and their larvae, larvae of one-day butterflies, dragonflies, May flies, etc. - can promise good complementary food for victims of disaster, etc. They should be collected in shallow water, always in running, unstagnant water. Catching fidgety aquatic life with your hands is a thankless and futile task, and therefore it is better to use an improvised net. To do this, stretch a piece of tulle, gauze or any other fabric at hand (in as a last resort shirt or pants), you need to walk through the shallow water as quickly as possible, scraping the water and everything in it to the shore. Or, on the contrary, to lead the net above the very bottom, like a deep-sea trawl.

A stationary net placed downstream of a river or stream is even more catchy. Several stakes are driven into the bottom, between which any fabric found is stretched at an angle open to the direction of the flow. Then, upstream, it is enough to stir the bottom with your feet and shake off the aquatic vegetation so that all the raised living creatures are carried into the net. In the absence of any material suitable for making nets, you can use long poles to pull large armfuls of algae onto the shore, inside of which to collect aquatic insects hiding there. Before consuming, it is better to boil all aquatic insects, since there is no guarantee that the water in which they live is sterile.

You may not believe it, but insects are edible. What do they taste like and why are some types regularly eaten in many countries around the world? We will learn about this from the materials of the next publication.

Cicada

This type of insect is eaten not only in Asian countries, but also in many parts of the United States. Cicadas practically do not crawl to the surface; they live deep underground and feed on the sap of the roots. They can live up to 17 years, periodically crawling to the surface to reproduce. At this time, many people eagerly await their prey, because they need to catch the insect before the shell hardens. Cicadas can be boiled, fried, or eaten with a side dish. They are valued for their low calorie content and high content protein (up to 40%).

In nature, there is also an annual (one-year) cicada, which is much easier to catch. Despite its name, it functions from 2 to 7 years. The insect tastes like asparagus or potatoes.

Dragonfly

In Indonesia, people practice eating dragonflies, mainly as a medicinal measure. They are fried or boiled. They catch dragonflies while they are hunting mosquitoes, and to do this they arm themselves with palm tree sticks dipped in sticky sap. Dragonflies taste like the soft shell of a crab.

Ant eggs

The following dish is popular in Mexico. The eggs of the giant black ant are collected from the roots of the agave plant. They are boiled or fried in oil and added to tacos or some other popular national dishes. However, the larvae have a mild, nutty flavor. There is also a cottage cheese aftertaste.

Mopani worms

These insects are eaten in Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe. In general, caterpillars are traditionally consumed all over the world. However, these blue-green spiny caterpillars are prized for their high protein content. Mopani worms are dried in the sun or smoked. Serve with sauce or stew. This African exotic has a soft, buttery taste.

Grasshopper

Mexicans have already distinguished themselves on our list. We continue to voice their gastronomic preferences. The grasshoppers are fried and seasoned with chili pepper and lime. Enterprising people sell ready dish in market squares. Passers-by happily gobble up handfuls of fried grasshoppers, like chips. They have a salty and spicy taste.

Silkworm pupae

Residents of Vietnam, China and Korea eat silkworm pupae, which are considered an edible by-product of the silk industry. If in Korea this insect is usually boiled, then in China and Vietnam residents prefer fried silkworm pupae. The dish tastes salty, similar to dried shrimp with a chewy consistency.

water beetle

These insects are eaten in Thailand. These massive creatures are very popular as a snack and can be purchased at any kiosk. Thais prefer them fried with spicy sauce or steamed. They also roll them into jars. The taste is reminiscent of lightly salted fish.

Scorpion

This formidable insect is eaten by residents of China, Thailand and Vietnam. They are caught on the street and deep fried. The taste of scorpion resembles the soft shell of a crab or shrimp in its shell.

Weevil beetle larva

Another “treasure” is eaten in Nigeria, Malaysia and Papua New Guinea. In rural areas, weevil larvae are considered a staple product; they are valued for their high content of protein, calcium, and potassium. They are collected directly from the tree, strung on a skewer and fried over hot coals. Sometimes fried in flour and wrapped in sago leaf. When raw, the larvae taste like coconut, but in finished form bacon.

Ants

Ants are eaten in Australia, Colombia and Thailand. Australian Aborigines wait until the insects grow to the size of grapes and eat them raw as sweets. Colombians eat their fat-assed ants like popcorn or peanuts. In Thailand, they prefer to fry red ants along with eggs and add them to salads.

Tarantula

Residents of Cambodia and Venezuela fry these arachnids in oil until crispy. Salt, sugar, and sometimes garlic are added and sold as street food. They eat tarantulas whole. And if the creatures’ legs are crispy, their thick bellies are quite sticky. In the jungles of Venezuela you can find a tarantula the size of a dinner plate. This type of tarantula is considered a delicacy and is fried over an open fire. It tastes like crab meat.

Termite

In West Africa, Australia and some areas of Latin America, residents eat termites. They are eaten raw, fried over charcoal or in oil. Termites taste like carrots.

Wasp larva

Residents of Japan love to eat wasp larvae. They are carefully removed from the nest and cooked in soy sauce with added sugar. Eaten as a snack. Taste: sweetish, crispy

Huhu beetle larvae

These insects are loved by the natives of New Zealand. The huge, thick larva is considered a delicacy and is eaten as a snack. People collect them under rotting tree trunks. Valued for their high protein content, their taste is reminiscent of peanut butter.

Brown marmorated bug

In Mexico and South Africa, locals eat stink bugs. To prevent the smell from being felt, insects are soaked in warm water. In Africa, they are first beheaded and then boiled and dried in the sun. Eat as a snack. The insect tastes like a mixture of cinnamon and iodine.