Termites | Bugs People Eat | Fun Fact Friday

Around the world there are bugs that "eat" people.  Mosquitoes, bed bugs, ants (yes really), etc.  But what might be less well know is that around the world, people eat bugs- sometimes as a dietary staple.  Here in the United States, it is less common, although people do eat bugs as a joke, on a dare, or by accident-- generally speaking though, bugs are not a common ingredient in our food (yet).

Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines Entomophagy:

Entomophagy : the practice of eating insects
 

 Because bugs are very nutritious and take very little effort or resources to raise, the practice of eating insects (or entomophagy) is being encouraged amoung young people and environmentally concious people.  Here are some commonly eaten bugs:

• Grasshoppers
• Cicadas
• Ants
• Termites
• Aquatic Insect Larva
• Wax worms
• Dragonflies
• Wasp Larvae
• Moth Pupa
• Palm Weevil Larva
• Cirina forda Westwood larva
• Damsel Flies
• Crickets
• Compost Beetle Larva

Bugs are eaten around the world. They are fried as a snack or appetizer, used in soup or stirfry as a protein, boiled, boiled and dried, and even eaten raw.  There you have it.  For fun fact Friday, around the world, and increasingly in the united states, people are eating insects as a regular part of their diet.

Micah Wood
Peak Pest Management LLC
503-998-4322
360-607-1933
206-790-8285
www.peak-pest-management.com
micah@peak-pest-management.com

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Merriam Webster Online Dictionary: "Entomophagy" www.merriam-webster.com

Mott, Maryann. "Bugs as Food: People Bite Back." National Geographic News. 16 Apr. 2004. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/04/0416_040416_eatingcicadas.html.

Unger, Lana. "Bug Food: Edible Insects - Insect Snacks from Around the World." The University of Kentucky College of Agriculture. 26 Jan 2009. http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/dept/bugfood2.asp