# Entomophagy - Why should our pets be the only ones to eat bugs?



## cacoseraph (Apr 13, 2012)

I was at a Sonoran Arthropod Study Institute conference today and saw an awesome presentation on entomophagy (human consumption of bugs).  I think i would like to get involved with the movement, as it were... I think i am going to start to keep a list, per state, of all the known delectable (or even just edible) species.

If anyone is also interested in entomophagy and would like to possibly lend a hand or even just keep abreast of my efforts, let me know here 

I ate some possibly surprisingly good lightly fried Zophobas morio, super worms today

The talk i saw was given by Dave Gracer, of www.smallstockfoods.com

One of the points he confirmed and which i have believed for a long time, is that insects can provide meat at a vastly more efficient rate than a cow or chicken... something that is becoming increasingly of a concern as more and more of the world adopts the sort of stereotypical USA diet.


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## Aurelia (Apr 13, 2012)

I'm an entomophage  Thought I get heartburn if I eat insects with thicker exoskeletons. My system doesn't like the chitin. Waxworms are my favorite. 

[YOUTUBE]abZoE_hJf-s[/YOUTUBE]


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## cacoseraph (Apr 14, 2012)

nice! it sounds very crunchy


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## ZephAmp (Apr 14, 2012)

I've been thinking about separating out some hissers or maybe some Eublaberus roaches for eating; Rearing them on a chicken mash diet in pristine conditions, I think they'd be fairly tasty. 
I don't see anything wrong with eating bugs; I really wish more people would look into it. If I'm out in the field and I don't have any food on hand I'll grab whatever bug I don't intend on keeping as a pet to munch on (guided by the general rule that if it's brightly colored, DON'T EAT IT.)


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## Aurelia (Apr 14, 2012)

ZephAmp said:


> I've been thinking about separating out some hissers or maybe some Eublaberus roaches for eating; Rearing them on a chicken mash diet in pristine conditions, I think they'd be fairly tasty.
> I don't see anything wrong with eating bugs; I really wish more people would look into it. If I'm out in the field and I don't have any food on hand I'll grab whatever bug I don't intend on keeping as a pet to munch on (guided by the general rule that if it's brightly colored, DON'T EAT IT.)


Just be careful. Some insects can harbor bacteria or insecticide if they've been in a field that has been treated.


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## ScarecrowGirl (Apr 14, 2012)

What about dubia? I almost made chocolate covered fried roaches for my guests on Halloween last year. Didn't get the chance to though...


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## 1Lord Of Ants1 (Apr 14, 2012)

GROSS!

Lol, but in all honesty, I've been interested in this for awhile. I'm sure they do taste quite good, I don't see why not, but I still can't bring myself to eat any insects. One day!


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## cacoseraph (Apr 14, 2012)

Hissers have urea or something in their fat which makes them taste bad if eaten en toto.  I bwlieve not all roaches do this.  Also a lot of roaches havw repugnatorials that mifht make an otherwise decent tasting bug taste bad.  One possible way around this is to harvest freshly molted specimens as they shed the repug exoskeleton invaginations

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Aurelia said:


> Just be careful. Some insects can harbor bacteria or insecticide if they've been in a field that has been treated.


 very good points.  Bugs should be treated like raw chicken in a sense, cooked fully to kill potential pathogens.  And yes, i would be very careful eating wc stuff and in fact would not suggest it


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## ZergFront (Apr 14, 2012)

cacoseraph said:


> Hissers have urea or something in their fat which makes them taste bad if eaten en toto.  I bwlieve not all roaches do this.  Also a lot of roaches havw repugnatorials that mifht make an otherwise decent tasting bug taste bad.  One possible way around this is to harvest freshly molted specimens as they shed the repug exoskeleton invaginations


 Huh, that would explain why my tarantulas find freshly shed bugs so tasty. X-D

 I do feed fresh-shed often because they are so soft. I am curious about insect consumption but don't have the nerve. I've heard crickets have a nutty flavor but I won't be dining on my own supply. They are so dirty even in that huge bin I got for them!

 After raising waxworms, I could see why they might taste good. They have such a sweet diet. When I had them, I even went out and got them honey with the comb and pollen capsules from a health food store.


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## The Snark (Apr 14, 2012)

There is a ... ?cultural? delicacy here among many people in S.E. Asia, not the just hilltribes, which exemplifies alternative munching. They take small frogs and baby freshwater crabs and mash them up with a mortar and pestle, adding just about any insect and arach that can be found. The resulting paste is spiced. Sometimes it is steamed, sometimes fried, sometimes eaten raw. We are talking the entire animal here, rinsed clean but... ::

To me this is a constant source of aggravation. Every year when the fields are flooded you see thousands of people out with their triangular dip nets methodically clearing the paddys of frogs, our first line of defense from mosquitoes. So you have an alternative food source, but it is a specialty item rather than a main staple, and severe depredation of the environment. 

Of course, this is utterly trivial compared to the damage done world wide by cattle farming. A balance needs to be found. My suggestion is cannibalism, starting with members of the American Cattlemans Association. Use the above paste for unique flavoring. :sarcasm:

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## zonbonzovi (Apr 14, 2012)

cacoseraph said:


> If anyone is also interested in entomophagy and would like to possibly lend a hand or even just keep abreast of my efforts, let me know here


Heck yeah.  Thanks for the link.  I've been keen on this since eating some of D.G. Gordon's stirfry and browsing the "Man Eating Bugs" book.  The two biggest issues seem to be changing our perception of bugs as food and developing a supply without it turning into some godawful gourmet niche.  Revelations about the safety aspect of entomophagy may help sway open minded folk and is the main reason why I haven't tried to seriously incorporate arthros in the diet.  Where to begin with cooking methods and where to get food without losing your shirt?    

I don't know what I can offer outside of locating research works, compiling data & spreading the word, but I'd be glad to assist if I can.


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## The Snark (Apr 14, 2012)

By far, the greatest quantity of insects eaten in S.E. Asia are larvae. They can be farmed and produced in prodigious quantities. Palm beetle and bamboo beetle are very common and usually found for sale in most of the larger local markets.


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## Hornets inverts (Apr 14, 2012)

i got bored afew weeks back, i shallow fried mealworms, drained them and salted them. Very very tasty, tastes much like pork crackling, even my 18month old loved it


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## Aurelia (Apr 14, 2012)

From my experience, most insects have very little flavor. They're like nature's tofu-they take on the flavor of whatever they're cooked in.

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## cacoseraph (Apr 14, 2012)

this thread is going much better than i expected and as good as i hoped


The Snark, i would dearly love to read as much as you are willing type about local habits, most especially farming.

@Horn & Aur, my limited experiences so far have borne out the fairly neutral, easy to adapt flavor... but i can't really even tell pork from beef unless i can see the meat so i am not a good judge of such things


@Zerg, i have definite reservations about just munching upon hobby crickets... but stir fry just about anything up with some tasty vegetable matter and i will probably be game.  now, if we could generate some protocols for "healthy crickets" we might very well revolutionize the damned global paradigm.  hobby crickets have a lot going for them, in a sense... they mature quickly and will eat just about anything... both those aspects are important to like, stable/staple entomophage species


One thing that occurs to me... this could be a very real way to save a fair chunk of the human species... or at least markedly improve their quality of life or decrease their global footprint.  people in the USA can moderately easily achieve a globally cushy way of life but we all leave HUGE footprints compared to the average global citizen.  folks in some of the like, up and coming countries have admirably small footprints... but maybe could probably  benefit from increased nutrition.  the possible local and global benefits are staggering when one contemplates them!

I am excited about this like i have been excited about few things in my life!


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## Galapoheros (Apr 15, 2012)

I like the idea because I gravitate to being independent.  It's not a discipline, it's more like my nature, it just feels good.  I'd rather not depend on other people for food, water and electricity, it's something that bothers me a little all the time.  I like the idea of conservation but I've read so much about "their" plans for "us".  The whole footprint thing and "them" manipulating and herding us into the cities and keeping us off of nature's property, imo they are going overboard and apparently indoctrinating the younger people in school.  I'm not saying that a lot of it doesn't make sense, it's just that they seem to go the manipulation route instead of encouraging a free society.  There's a lot of info about that.  These big redheaded crickets I have seem like they would be tasty fried up.  They're pretty big also and easy to raise.  They don't die-off and they don't smell bad either.  With a garden, you could feed the the left-over composting stuff to the crickets, and get some of your protein from the crickets.


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## pitbulllady (Apr 15, 2012)

'Bout time someone started this thread!  We could really solve a lot of our food problems by eating bugs.  I've eaten mealworms, Superworms, ants and crickets myself, prepared in various ways, but spicy stir-friend Superworms are top of the taste list for me!    Many cultures around the globe have been eating insects for thousands of years, and it's mainly our culture's associating insects with things that are nasty or unhealthy that has prevented it from becoming more accepted. 
I agree about the flavor thing, but is that a bad thing?  I don't think so.  I prefer a food which can adapt itself to whatever taste craving I have at the moment, actually.  Most of the food we eat now gets its flavor primarily from what we put in it as it cooks, and few of us have tasted food that was prepared and cooked with absolutely no added flavorings, like salt, at all.  I can distinguish between Superworms and regular mealworms, though, when it's just them stir-fried in a bit of olive oil with a dash of salt.  Superworms have a much more "peanutty" flavor.
Once in awhile, there'll be someone at a reptile show selling cooked bugs, and those actually sell quite well.  I've gotten more than one person to try the mealworms, and no one really has said that they were "gross" or "yucky" or spit them out after trying them.  It's that first try that is most difficult, but like with a person petting a snake for the first time, expecting it to be slimy and disgusting and finding it soft, silky and dry, people seem rather surprised that they actually like the taste of cooked bugs.  It's just the getting over the cultural notion of bugs being nasty that's the hard part.

pitbulllady


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## Boatman (Apr 15, 2012)

My mouth is starting to water as I read this thread!... LOL. I haven't tried bugs, but I would if the opportunity presented itself, and it was prepared in an appetizing fashion. I should be OK as long as I don't find the texture repelling (prickly, mushy, etc.), and it's flavored well. I've seen some things on Bizarre Foods that I would try. When I say that to someone and they say it's gross I say "Hey...Do cows and chickens look all that appetizing to you when they're running around the farm"?. Besides, I think if everyone had to slaughter their own food, there would be a lot more vegetarians.


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## The Snark (Apr 15, 2012)

The broader view of things. As long as food is viewed first and foremost as mouth entertainment, our longevity will suffer, diseases that were once rarities will become more and more commonplace (as arteriosclerosis and diabetes), junk food marketers will continue to make obscene amounts of profit, the environment will eventually be irreparably damaged, and millions of people, especially children, will continue to starve to death.

Eat bugs or whatever? How about just looking at things sensibly? What 'fuel' will let me live a long healthy life? Why not bugs? Millions of pounds of pink slime goes down that hole every year. Pink slime, aka offal, aka animal based filler material, aka hot dogs etc.
Offal: The parts of a butchered animal that are, or once were, considered inedible by human beings. Eyeballs, entrails, carcinomas, bone shavings etc. Sure seems like the modern diet is already including far weirder crud than a few insects or spiders.


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## SamuraiSid (Apr 15, 2012)

On NetFlix, I saw an episode of TedTALKS where the speaker, whos name eludes me, was saying what your saying cacoseraph. I've never before eaten a bug, but I've started to wonder if I could eat one of my morio larvae reserved for the T's.

My mother is fillipino, and in her youth before moving to the states, has consumed such a varied diet of insects I was always amazed. Havnt talked much about it since I was a kid, but maybe Ill see if she can remember any recipes or give me an idea with the larvae.

I also have serious digestive illness, which has unfortunately led to an uncomfortable state of anorexia. I find the options in the "health food" ailse of my local grocer to be of poor quality and strife with propaganda. Bugs could be the key to health.

I for one will keep reading this post


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## The Snark (Apr 15, 2012)

I'm considering getting off me tush and doing a little photo essay of local bugs commonly eaten including the farming/breeding of these. My SO mentioned the most common around here are crickets which are sold from large clear plastic breeding jars that contain thousands. We haven't seen any of those lately but we haven't haunted the evening markets very often. Is there enough interest in this to motivate me?


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## Ungoliant (Apr 16, 2012)

I've never intentionally eaten a bug. It doesn't sound particularly appetizing, but I am willing to try most foods provided that they are handled and prepared in accordance with basic food safety principles.


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## Thistles (Apr 16, 2012)

The Snark said:


> The broader view of things. As long as food is viewed first and foremost as mouth entertainment, our longevity will suffer, diseases that were once rarities will become more and more commonplace (as arteriosclerosis and diabetes), junk food marketers will continue to make obscene amounts of profit, the environment will eventually be irreparably damaged, and millions of people, especially children, will continue to starve to death.
> 
> Eat bugs or whatever? How about just looking at things sensibly? What 'fuel' will let me live a long healthy life? Why not bugs? Millions of pounds of pink slime goes down that hole every year. Pink slime, aka offal, aka animal based filler material, aka hot dogs etc.
> Offal: The parts of a butchered animal that are, or once were, considered inedible by human beings. Eyeballs, entrails, carcinomas, bone shavings etc. Sure seems like the modern diet is already including far weirder crud than a few insects or spiders.


You just made several of the main arguments for vegetarian or veganism. The "western" diet is such harmful, wasteful garbage. Not only is it bad for the individual people eating this crap, it is killing the planet and squandering resources that could be used to feed those who need it most. Imagine if all the food we feed to our livestock were used to feed people. Our lifestyle is absolutely indefensibly insane.


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## Hayden (Apr 16, 2012)

My freshman year of college my bio teacher let us eat bugs for extra credit.

I got an A+.


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## Aurelia (Apr 16, 2012)

I took the class that did this- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmVkalog_Po

I now work in the same building as Dr. Dunkel (professor in this video).


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## SamuraiSid (Apr 18, 2012)

The Snark said:


> I'm considering getting off me tush and doing a little photo essay of local bugs commonly eaten including the farming/breeding of these. My SO mentioned the most common around here are crickets which are sold from large clear plastic breeding jars that contain thousands. We haven't seen any of those lately but we haven't haunted the evening markets very often. Is there enough interest in this to motivate me?


I should hope so!!! Im already salivating, seriously. I eat fairly healthy, but its a western diet all the same. Why should my "pets" eat better than I do? 


@ Galapoheros: I 100% agree with you, man, and have read many such books. Unfortunately its left a large cynical stain on my character, be weary


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## cacoseraph (Apr 18, 2012)

i'm very happy to see there was already some people interested and some people that might be getting interested

at this point i am going to email Dave Gracer and get a list of known tasty bugs and then start making a state by state list of where you can find them


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## Chiwoh (Apr 18, 2012)

Nice topic! So, here it goes. One of the leading experts in the field is Dr. Julieta Ramos Elorduy, a biologist from Mexico. I would suggest anybody interested in entomophagy to do a search of her articles. She has been working on this topic for over 25 years, and has created a catalog with 505 edible insect species. Some of the articles are written in Spanish and translated to English, so it shouldn’t be a problem. You will find this to be true with many interesting scientific publications as Mexico is leading the research in entomophagy. On another note, she's also the author of the book called “Creepy Crawly Cuisine”, in case you want to know some recipes. Hope it helps! 

Cheers

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## Trogdora (Apr 18, 2012)

Haven't eaten any bugs besides a mealworm some 10+ years ago, but the subject fascinates me. One of my favorite websites on entomophagy is girlmeetsbug.com. She's got some interesting articles up as well as plenty of links to places to get bugs to eat. Yum!

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## zonbonzovi (Apr 19, 2012)

Only skimmed through this and it seems I'm on on borrowed time this week:

Assessing the potential of insects as food and feed in assuring food security
www.fao.org/docrep/015/an233e/an233e00.pdf

As compiled by Mr. Yde Jongema via this web address: http://www.ent.wur.nl/UK/Edible+insects/Worldwide+species+list/
Worldlistofedibleinsectspecies42012.pdf

UN page on insect edibility:
http://www.fao.org/forestry/edibleinsects/en/

Sign up via Facebook to receive a newsletter on updates in research:
http://www.foodinsectsnewsletter.org/

(Thanks to 'All Things Bugs' on FB for providing the initial link)

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Edit: Trogdora's link revealed another conference w/ interesting pdf's:

http://www.sifat.org/workshop4.html

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## Bugs In Cyberspace (Apr 20, 2012)

Last time I went to this local joint they served grasshoppers Oaxaca-style:

http://www.lacalacacomelona.com/index.html

Little salty but inside a corn tortilla with a generous amount of salsa and what doesn't taste good?

This thread is makin' me hungry!

Dave used to have a website called Sunrise Land Shrimp. He sent me a bag of goodies once--baked bugs of various kinds. They didn't taste too fantastic being dried out and all. I think a stir fry application would suit me best, with fresh bugs and maybe a nice Thai peanut sauce. Not sure where Dave's at these days.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Ognyen (Apr 20, 2012)

*More Entomophagy*

This thread is what got me here on the Arachnoboards.  I saw Dave Gracer's name mentioned --a most-excellent resource guy, and co-editor of The Food Insects Newsletter.  If you want to get more into entomophagy, check out our Missouri Entomophagy group at Facebook.  It's quite active, and way more than just Missouri --thanks to the enthusiastic members.  Bugs aren't a major part of my diet, but I've been knowingly eating them, and sharing my findings with the public for nearly 10 years.  Daniella Martin has a neat cooking video where she shows you how to make deep-fried scorpion.  Check her out at www.girlmeetsbug.com  That would count as being quite arachno-related.

Reactions: Like 1


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## cacoseraph (Apr 21, 2012)

thanks to all 

i'm pretty busy right now but i should be digesting (see what i did there? =P ) all the links and info i have been given and then starting on compiling my state by state list fairly soon (on the order of single digit weeks, i would hope).  it seems like this will actually turn out to be, by far, the most ambitious list i have attempted yet and that i might need to design and implement some kind of programmatic solution to help me with it... that could be a sweet pay off if i can do something sufficiently clever


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## cacoseraph (May 9, 2012)

busy as heck, i work 6 days a week and my critters take up half of the seventh =P


i heard from Gracer again and he is pretty excited about what he has going on and wants to get something going with Tucson people or very probably (once i tell him) AB folks




here is something i saw on my facebook feed
"Local expert gets funding to develop food based on insects"
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20120509/ARTICLES/120509543/1139


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## Shrike (May 10, 2012)

How about a little mainstream entomophagy?  Oyamel (an upscale Mexican restaurant in DC) serves Chapulines tacos, "the legendary Oaxacan specialty of sautéed grasshoppers, shallots, tequila and guacamole."  I'm definitely a fan.


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## zonbonzovi (May 10, 2012)

Gracer = All Things Bugs.  I just made the connection and feel like a nitwit lol.  

I've been reading "Smoking Ears and Screaming Teeth" by Trevor Norton: mostly about self-experimentation by early scientists but has a lot of anecdotes of entomophagy.  Check out, in particular, Frank Buckland & Chuck Darwin's cousin, Sir Francis Galton.


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## Malhavoc's (May 11, 2012)

Any good recipe compliation websites out there?


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## Robotponys (May 11, 2012)

The only bug I've eaten was crickets, on tacos once, and the other was straight from a box.  This was in NYC in a restaurant and I was about 5 or 6. VERY salty, not very good IMO.


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## zonbonzovi (May 11, 2012)

Malhavoc's said:


> Any good recipe compliation websites out there?


Mostly dessert oriented:

http://insectsarefood.com/recipes.php

http://www.saxonweb.com/church/insects.htm

http://worldento.com/index.php/central/recipes


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## The Snark (May 12, 2012)

In the past few days we have been having massive termite swarms. People have been gathering under the street lights at dusk to collect them. The going rate has been around 1200 baht, about $33 a kilogram. Seems like most of southeast Asia is going around belching termite sauces and sautes. Our cat, which is in fact a subspecies of ghoul, is back to looking like she ate a cantaloupe after a nights grazing in the carport. It enjoys the termites almost as much as roadkill snakes, toads and frogs, well aged to bring out the piquant flavor. (If you value your sinuses and sanity, do NOT smell it's breath)


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## zonbonzovi (Aug 21, 2012)

from Dave Gracer via FB:

"HELP! I need a list of the largest cricket farms in the USA and their production capacities for a grant - THIS WEEK! It will be critical for me to demonstrate that there is substantial supply of crickets for this grant! THANKS!"

If you've befriended All Things Bug on FB, forward what you know and give the guy a hand.  Or, drop a list here and I'll forward it.  Packets of future cricket paste for the masses depend on it!


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## desertanimal (Aug 21, 2012)

I can tell you that the cicadas in Madagascar are quite tasty fried.  I haven't tried the cicadas here, but I'm guessing they'd be similar.  I willingly eat cicadas regularly when they are in season and I'm in the field, working out a deal to donate the oil for the camp staff's cicada frying if they'll provide the cicadas and I get to eat them, too.  You just tear off the wings and legs, and sautee them up.  They are far superior to the grasshoppers I've eaten in taste.  They taste like pan-seared salmon skin.  

To avoid indigestion, chew until you've gotten all you're getting out of them, and then spit out the bolus of chitin.


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## Dhaynes (Jan 26, 2013)

I've been tempted to go into entomophagy, breeding my own supply. Not really sure how to make actual meals out of them, but some stir/deep fried as snacks? 

I'm ninety percent sure eating our bugs is healthier than... Say... Any of the meat at the market.

I'm already breeding Lateralis. Thinking maybe to start Superworms and Waxworms. Maybe even try Harlequinn beetles(And larva.) Any other suggestions?


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## Moonfall (Jan 26, 2013)

I ate mealworms once. Cooked and dried, they were crispy. I got them at a bug fair.. very interesting.

I wouldn't probably eat them regularly but I wouldn't object if I was really hungry or something. My stomach is super weird with IBS and so I would worry it might act up.


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## mdtalley22 (Jan 27, 2013)

When I lived in Oaxaca, Mexico it is very common to eat grasshoppers and crickets.  Many times they boil them, season them, then dry them in the sun.  Eaten whole it is a lot like pop corn but chopped up they can be used as a seasoning type food.  

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2


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## Louise E. Rothstein (Jan 30, 2013)

Back when I grew silk and silkworms I noticed that my hamsters LOVED the pupae that were left over from "simmering"  "raw" cocoons.
Pity I didn't think of trying them myself; for I have never had another opportunity.

Chinese silk workers did.
They had enough "spare" pupae to provide some for everyone there...but they were in  China.

I never saw what their recipes were...

But happy hamsters "said..." 

"They are good eating!"


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## Dhaynes (Feb 1, 2013)

Also, a question. -After- being cooked, how long can bugs be held in a refrigerator?


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