Chapter
17
CENTRAL
AND EASTERN AFRICA: ZAMBIA
Taxa and life stages consumed
Cerambycidae
(long-horned beetles)
Acanthophorus
capensis (author?), larva
Acanthophorus
confines Laporte, larva
Acanthophorus maculates (author?), larva
Scarabaeidae
(scarab beetles)
Pachylomera
fermoralis (author?), larva
A few additional
coleopterans
Cicadidae (cicadas)
Ioba leopardina (author?), adult
Platypleura
stridula (author?), adult
Ugada limbalis Karsch, adult
Apidae (honey bees,
bumble bees)
Apis mellifera
adansonii Latr., larva
Apis mellifera
capensis (author?), larva
Formicidae (ants)
Carebara vidua Sm., winged adult
Macrotermes
falciger Gerstacker, winged adult
Macrotermes
subhyalinus Rambur, winged adult
Macrotermes
vitrialatus (Sjostedt) (= vatriolatus), winged adult
Odontotermes badius (Haviland), winged
adult
Pseudacanthotermes
spiniger Sjostedt, winged adult
Lasiocampidae
(eggar moths, lappets)
Catalebeda jamesoni B.-Bak, pupa
Pachypasa bilinear Walk., pupa
Limacodidae (slug
caterpillars)
Limacodid sp.,
larva
Noctuidae
(noctuids)
Busseola fusca Hmps., larva
Heliothis obsolete Fabr., larva
Sphingomorpha
chlorea Cr., larva
Spodoptera exempta Walker, larva
Spodoptera exigua Hubner, larva
Notodontidae
(prominants)
Anaphe infracta Walk., larva, pupa
(less often)
Desmeocraera sp., larva
Saturniidae (giant
silk moths)
Bunaea alcinoe Stoll, larva, pupa
Bunaeopsis sp., larva, pupa
Cinabra hyperbius (Westwood), larva
Cirina forda (Westwood), larva,
pupa
Gonimbrasia belina Westwood, larva,
pupa
Gynanisa maia (Klug) (= maja
Klug), larva, pupa
Holocerina
agomensis Karsch, larva
Imbrasia epimethea Drury, larva, pupa
Lobobunaea christyi Sharpe, larva
Lobobunaea saturnus Westw., larva
Micragone ansorgei Rothschild, larva
Sphingidae (sphinx
or hawk-moths)
Herse convolvuli (Linn.), larva
Nephele comma Hopffer, larva,
pupa
Several with
uncertain scientific identity
Acrididae
(short-horned grasshoppers)
Acanthacris
ruficornis Fabr., adult
Acorypha
nigrovariegata (author?), adult
Acrida
sulphuripennis Gerstacker, adult
Afroxyrrepes sp., adult
Amblyptymus sp., adult
Cardeniopsis
guttatus (author?), adult
Catantops ornatus (author?), adult
Catantops sp., adult
Cyathosternum sp., adult
Cyrtacanthacris
aeruginosa (author?), adult
Cyrtacanthacris
septemfasciata Serville, adult
Cyrtacanthacris
tartaria (author?), adult
Locusta migratoria (author?), adult
Locusta migratoria
migratoroides Reiche and Fairmaire, adult
Locustana pardalina
(Walker),
adult
Oedaleus
nigrofasciatus (author?), adult
Ornithacris spp. (2), adults
Poecilocerastis sp., adult
Schistocerca
gregaria Forskal, adult
Gryllidae
(crickets)
Acheta spp., adults
Brachytrupes
membranaceus Drury, adult
Gryllus (=
Liogryllus) bimaculatus De Geer, adult
Tettigoniidae
(long-horned grasshoppers)
Ruspolia differens Audinet-Serville
(= Homorocoryphus nitidulus vicinus), adult
Richards (1939: 37‑42) discussed the
composition and seasonal inadequacies of the Bemba diet in northeastern Zambia,
which consists largely of finger millet. The bulk of each meal is a porridge
made of this flour with subsidiary foods being eaten in small quantities.
Richards states:
In effect the people have a harvest
season from May to September in which millet, beer, green food, ground‑nuts,
pulses are plentiful, and meat in some areas, and the diet is therefore ample
and probably varied. This is followed by a dry season (October‑November)
in which millet and beer are still available but green vegetables scarce or non‑existent.
The wild fruits are much liked, but only last about a month or six weeks. Meat
and fish are obtainable in these months also, but only in certain districts. At
the beginning of the rains, November and December, the diet changes. Millet is
already beginning to be short, and mushrooms [which have little nutritive
value] and caterpillars are the main standby as additional relishes. In the
late rains millet is practicably non‑obtainable, and gourds and
occasional maize‑cobs are often the only available foods. Thus the diet
changes completely in composition from one season to another ‑‑ a
characteristic feature of primitive societies, of which the effects have not
yet been investigated. Such essential constituents as are provided by the green
vegetables, fruit, meat, and fish. . . are only available for short periods of
the year.
Against this background that Richards
describes, she says, "Caterpillars are obtainable everywhere during the
wet season, and make quite a considerable contribution to the animal protein of
this diet." Caterpillars swarm at different periods in different districts
from October to April. They appear to be, from Richard's seasonal data, the
most important single source of nutrients during the hunger months from
November to February. Ants (termites?) and other insects are also available
during October and November and honey from April through July and October into
November. Seasonal availability of these insects in relation to other Bemba
foods is shown in Zambia Table 1 (see Richard's unnumbered table, p. 41).
According to Richards
(p. 408), the most common method of preparing caterpillars and other insects is
by slow stewing with ground‑nut sauce, the vernacular term being ukusashila.
Insects may also be cooked dry which is called ukusalula.
Richards (pp. 409‑410)
provides information on the nutrient analysis of Bemba foods, including
unspecified caterpillars (dried) and locusts (Zambia Table 2; see Richard's Appendix
Table B, p. 409). At 65 g protein/100 g
insect, dried caterpillars are by far the most concentrated source of protein
in the Bemba diet. Comparable figures
are 32 g for dried fish, 30 g for roast venison, 28 g for groundnuts, 26 g for
dried leaves, 23 g for dried beans, 22 g for dried peas, and 21 g for haricot
beans and dried cow‑peas. Fresh
mushrooms and fruits, which, along with caterpillars are the most widely
available foods in December and January, contain only 2 g and 1 g,
respectively, per 100 g. Thus the seasonal importance of caterpillars is
evident.
White (1959)
included edible insects in outlining the existing state of the economy of the
Luvale (and the Luchazi and Chokwe) in the Balovale and Kabompo districts
(North-Western Province) of Zambia. According to White (p. 16), there is a
great range of local products which the environment provides for every-day use,
but "this presumably early stratum in the Luvale economy must be viewed not as primitive subsistence
but as one element in an economy which has become progressively more
complicated with the passage of time through the establishment first of
agriculture, and secondly of an exchange and cash economy." He suggests that although most African peoples collect the produce of
the bush to some extent for food, the Luvale appear to exploit their sylvan
resources much more effectively than many including the Bemba. It is noted also
that the Lala of Serenje, studied by Thomson (see below), make but limited use
of wild fruits and very little use of insect food in comparison with the
Luvale. Insect foods discussed by White are included under the appropriate
taxonomic categories below.
Moses Chakanga, a Zambian national,
provided information on observations between 1975 and 1987 in the town of
Kasama (Bemba people) in the Northern Province and in the town of Chipata
(Ngoni people) in the Eastern Province (pers. comm. 1987). Caterpillars and "flying
ants" were harvested during the wet season (December to March) and
grasshoppers during the dry season (June to October). The insects are captured
by hand and placed in bags. Preparation is generally by frying in cooking oil.
S.K.
Kumar (1990), of the International Food Policy Research
Institute, Washington, D.C., stated regarding work they were doing on food
consumption patterns in Zambia:
We have found very
common use of foods such as caterpillars and flying termites in the diet of
rural and peri-rural households. The
former is much more common and is even widely available in dried form in local
markets. The latter is much more a
rarity, and is seasonally available only during the early part of the rainy
season. However, both items have a
seasonal pattern in their consumption.
Even though we did not find the dietary use of other insects in the
region of Zambia where we were working, it has also been reported that
grasshoppers and crickets are occasionally eaten. The Zambian food composition tables [which are widely used by
nutritionists in the country] include these items among the list of food items
consumed and show their nutritional content. . . .
Kumar
continues:
Overall, there seems to
be a trend towards a reduction in the consumption of these foods. We have made an assessment of the
contribution of these foods in the diet, and have found it to be very small on
an annual basis. However, it is very
significant on a seasonal basis, and the time these foods are widely available
is during the hungry season, and at that time provide an important source of
quality protein in the diet.
Mbata
(1995) provided the scientific names of more than
30 species eaten in Zambia, while stating that the identity of many species
remains unknown. Entomophagy has gained greater prominance in Zambia in recent
years as the result of poor economic conditions and a persistent drowth. Large quantities of edible insects,
especially caterpillars, grasshoppers and termites are brought from rural areas
for sale in town markets. Entomophagy has been part of tradition "since
time immemorium," especially in parts
of the country where people do not traditionally keep livestock, and has no
doubt played an important role in averting diseases such as kwashiorkor in
young children. Mbata provides local names (used by 16 tribal groups) and
describes methods of preparation (see under the appropriate taxonomic
categories below).
Coleoptera
Cerambycidae (long-horned beetles)
Acanthophorus capensis (author?), larva
Acanthophorus confinis Laporte, larva
Acanthophorus maculatus (author?), larva
Mbata (1995) reported the above species and listed several local
names. The white larvae are extracted
by axe from drying tree trunks or dug from the ground and cooked without
squeezing out the gut contents. Salt,
tomato and onions may be added. The
larvae may also be fried, but in their own fat as they are very fatty. Their unique flavors are derived from the
gut contents, consisting mainly of wood particles.
Scarabaeidae (scarab beetles)
Pachylomera fermoralis (author?), larva
Mbata (1995) reported that the grubs of P. fermoralis and
several other unidentified species of dung beetles are eaten. They are dug from the ground during the
rainy season and are fried, salted, and used as relish.
Mbata
also reports that many unidentified species of flower beetles are used. The heads and wings of the adult insects are
removed and the remainder salted and
fried and used as relish. Or, they may also be roasted.
Family unknown
Thomson (1954), who studied the Lala in the Serenje district, reported
that a black wood beetle known as amapembeya which is found during the
dry season is occasionally eaten, as is an insect (beetle?) known as the iciense
which is dug out of the ground during the rains. White (1959)
reports that large white larvae, which are probably coleopterous, are dug up in
grass lands from September to December.
Homoptera
Cicadidae (cicadas)
Ioba leopardina (author?), adult
Platypleura stridula (author?), adult
Ugada limbalis Karsch, adult
According
to Mbata, the above species are among several that are consumed. The wings are removed and the insects are
roasted or fried in cooking oil or fat.
Or they may be boiled and salted.
Cicadas are also fed to chickens in some parts of Zambia.
Hymenoptera
Apidae (honey bees, bumble bees)
Apis mellifera adansonii Latr., larva
Apis mellifera capensis (author?), larva
Honey
bee products of the above species are used, plus those of many other smaller
bee species (Mbata 1995). Honey
is an important sugar source for rural people, and it is also used to brew
local liquor. The wax is used to make
candles and to condition animal skins on the traditional drums. The larvae may
be eaten with the honey, or they may be extracted, fried and consumed as relish
with the main meal. Bumble bee (Bombinae spp.) honey can be extracted from tree
trunks, but is not as popular as that of the honey bees.
Thomson (1954) notes (p. 43) that honeycomb is popular but not often
found by the Lala in the Serenje district. "The comb is broken into small
pieces and the honey extracted to be eaten alone or with thin porridge. The
pieces of comb are then boiled for about half an hour to cook the small bees
[larvae/pupae] inside and are eaten with relish."
White (1959: 13-14) states:
The Luvale make bark
cylinder bee-hives (jingoma) which are put up trees so that wild bees
may swarm in them. The same wild bees also nest in tree holes and termite
mounds. In areas where bees are plentiful, their value is appreciated, and the
collectors take care not to remove all the honey, so as to ensure the return of
the swarm. . . . Honey is readily available from May to December, scarce in
January, lacking from February to April. The Luvale use it eaten as it comes
from the hive, ferment it into mead (ndoka), and eat the comb containing
bee larvae (chitana). A number of small stingless wild bees also make
honey, nesting in tree holes or in the ground.
The small stingless bees (White lists eight vernacular
names) have a more limited honey season, from August to November. White
provides the names of the major honey trees. Keen apiarists may have dozens of
hives, located up to 20 miles from the village. Interference with a man's hives
is considered a serious offense. Small shrines to their ancestral spirits are
erected by bee-keepers to ensure a bountiful supply of honey.
Formicidae (ants)
Carebara vidua Sm., winged adult
To
prepare, wings are removed if they were not shed during the nuptial flight, and
the insects are then fried in their own fat.
They are eaten as snacks or used as relish (Mbata 1995). They may also be boiled or eaten raw.
Isoptera
Termitidae
Macrotermes falciger Gerstacker, winged adult
Macrotermes subhyalinus Rambur, winged adult
Macrotermes vitrialatus (Sjostedt) (= vatriolatus), winged adult
Odontotermes badius (Haviland), winged adults
Pseudacanthotermes spiniger Sjostedt, winged adult
In
addition to the above five species, Silow (1983) suggests that
three other species of Macrotermes, M. mossambicus (Hagen), M. bellicosus (Smeathman) and M.
natalensis (Haviland) may be found and harvested in Zambia (p. 132). Silow states (p. 109):
The Mbunda, Nkangala,
Lucazi, Luvale, Cokwe, and Yauma generally agree that the meat of [Macrotermes
spp. winged sexuals] is better than meat of animals, birds, fish. Perhaps one or another of the edible
caterpillars is comparable with them, but most of my informants are of the
opinion that [Macrotermes] or honey is the best existing food. Some few persons simply do not like
them. It is known that some
missionaries have condemned winged termite eating as a heathen custom, yet,
even one person who had previously told me that he was a Christian and thus
would never taste such things, valued them as highly as non-Christians. . .
Bemba, Namwanga, Nyanja, and Nsenga I have met unanimously declare that [Macrotermes
winged adults] are more delicious than anything else, or at least among the
most delicious dishes.
Silow provides a text table (pp. 109-112) listing the
peoples who eat Macrotermes winged adults, and notes that they are
highly esteemed by the majority of ethnic groups in Bantu-speaking Africa.
Silow also discusses the relatively few peoples who do not eat the winged
termites (pp. 112-116). In tribes having termites as a totem, the termites may
be forbidden food. Silow discusses in
detail methods of collecting, cooking, preserving and marketing winged Macrotermes
(pp. 116-130). Silow reports that termite soldiers are considered to be
inedible, at least in western Zambia (pp. 88-91)
Both
Mbunda and Nkoya women use clay from Macrotermes mounds as medicine
(Silow, pp. 92-93). The women regard clay eating as a means to "provide
uterus with building material" and to "help it form the fetus
properly." The amount of clay
eaten ranges from only a little two or three times during the pregnancy to a
handful daily. In sandy soil areas, the
termite clay may be gritty, and clay nests of Mason wasps are usually used
instead. Non-pregnant women may also
eat termite clay when they feel weak.
According to Silow, Munda and Nkoya men look upon clay-eating as a female
habit, belonging within the realm of female medicine.
Winged Pseudacanthotermes
and Odontotermes are eaten by the Mbunda and several other groups, but
are not as popular as the Macrotermes even though they are said to taste
the same (Silow, pp. 136-137). They are
smaller and collected in smaller quantities.
They are rarely stored because quantities are too small, and they do not
enter trade.
The
three Macrotermes species listed above are the largest of several
species eaten (Mbata 1995). The
freshly caught alates are placed in a pan and fried without adding cooking oil;
a little salt is added. After frying,
the wings are removed either by sifting the insects or by rubbing them between
the palms. They are eaten as snacks or
used as relish with a thick porridge (nsima).
Fried termites can also be sun-dried for future use. And some termites
are eaten raw.
Family uncertain
Richards
gives the vernacular name of "ants" [termites]
as nkate. They are plentiful as food in the months of October and November.
Thomson mentions that in the villages she studied in the Serenje
district, no one bothered to collect termites when they appeared at the
beginning of the rains, although a few school children ate them at school. In
several parts of the district, however, a species known as Fibengele is
collected, dried and sold. According to White, flying termites (tuswa)
are widely eaten by the Luvale during the rains; the termites store well for
some days after collection, so large quantities can be gathered when they
emerge. See also Chakanga and Kumar in
Introduction.
Silow (1983, pp. 146-147) reports that Microcerotermes and
other subterranean Amitermitinae (soldiers, workers and, sometimes, winged
sexuals included) are considered medicine for fowl. He quotes his informants, "If you come across a carton-nest,
you should carry it home, break it open and give it to your chickens. They are very fond of the inhabitants. They will be more healthy, and the hens will
produce more chickens." Silow also
reports (pp. 147-150) that Trinervitermes spp. (soldiers, workers, and
winged sexuals sometimes included) are used as fish bait and bird bait.
Lepidoptera
Silow
(1976) added greatly to knowledge about the use of
caterpillars as food in Zambia. His
ethnoentomological field-work was mainly based at Kalundu, a village cluster
near Mangango in Kaoma District in Western Province, with shorter times spent
in other provinces. He worked with the
Nkoya, who are the original inhabitants of Kaoma District, and with the Mbunda
and other ethnic groups who have migrated into the area over the years from
Angola. Most of his informants were
peasants who hunt, fish and gather for their household requirements, but who
are all more or less influenced by changes in modern times including conflicts
between foreign (mainly European) and traditional values and customs. A number of the species studied by Silow
(mainly those whose scientific identity were determined) are discussed below
under the appropriate families. The following few paragraphs are taken from his
summary of the use of caterpillars as food (pp. 205-215).
Cultural
factors determine whether caterpillars are regarded as edible. Of the groups studied by Silow, the Mbunda
and Nkoya are caterpillar eaters, the Lozi are among the peoples who don't eat
any at all. The Mbunda regard 31 kinds
as edible, the Nkoya regard 12 kinds as edible. People say that the edible kinds were selected by the ancestors
long ago, and they assume the ancestors had good reasons for not selecting some
kinds. Aside from toxic forms, some are too small, too few, too protectively
colored, too urticant, etc. The most important family is the Saturniidae; about
half the species gathered by the Mbunda belong to this family. The richest forest type for caterpillar
gathering in the Kalundu region is Julbernardia paniculata forest,
followed by Burkea africana/Erythrophleum africanum forest. Caterpillars
feeding on J. paniculata are thought to have a better taste than
others. If a larva with several host
plants, one of which is J. paniculata, is found on one of the other
hosts, it may be moved to J. paniculata for a few days before
harvest. The least-liked caterpillar is
a limacodid called kavambe, but even it is more popular than, for
example, fish. According to Silow, no
kind of caterpillar can be regarded as famine food in the Kalundu region.
Caterpillars
may be eaten as a snack, for which they are mostly roasted, or as a meat-course
served with porridge at a regular meal.
They are preferred fresh, so only those not needed for a substantial
meal are kept for preservation.
Preserved caterpillars are often stewed with vegetables. People in the Kalundu region estimate that
caterpillars are eaten as relish to the main meal averaging once every 3rd or
4th day during late September-March (only once a week during January-March for the Nkoya), once or twice every
fortnight April-June, and none August-early September. Silow states that, "Caterpillars were
one of the great trade articles of pre-colonial Africa. Local surplus was
exported to regions deficient in caterpillars." The Mbunda are familiar with seven kinds that are marketed, all
of which feed on dominant species of forest trees. Silow says that the
increasing demand for caterpillars in the growing towns and attendant rising
prices and cash payment have decreased the occurrence of regional
bartering. Caterpillars are about 8
times as expensive in Lusaka and the Copper-Belt as at Mangango.
Silow
describes how European influence has undermined the traditional attitudes
toward caterpillars. He states:
In connection with the
independence movement a reaction spread, especially in the towns, maintaining
that caterpillars are excellent African food.
The course of development, according to which modern, enlightened people
should not eat the larvae, appears, however, to be stronger. Already at the
primary schools many children learn from their teachers that caterpillars are
bad food. Even if they generally keep
the food habits of their parents, they have become a little hesitant about
them. The pupils of the secondary schools, who spend their terms at
boarding-schools with mainly non-African teachers, often refuse to eat
caterpillars . . . . More and more young people spend the time, which they
formerly would have devoted to learning about nature, e.g. about caterpillars
and hosts of caterpillars, or to collecting e.g. caterpillars, in going to
school, in earning money at some more or less occasional work, in hanging
about, in drinking beer, etc.
Silow
also suggests why there has been a decrease in the supply of caterpillars and
suggests measures that might be taken to counteract the trend. In this regard, he says, "However, all
such arrangements are vain, if the children are not educated about edible
caterpillars in their environment. In proportion to the great economic
importance of the caterpillars the authorities have hitherto been little
interested in them."
Thomson (1954) discusses use of caterpillars by the Lala tribe in the
Serenje district, but, unfortunately, provides no scientific names. She states
(p. 43):
The main caterpillar
season is in November but small quantities are found at other times of the
year, particularly the imishila variety in April. Caterpillars not only form a large part of
the diet for three or four months of the year but also have an important
commercial value. From November to January they form 40 per cent. of the
relishes and from then until March 27 per cent. They can be sold for quite a
good price to the Copper Belt or exchanged for grain, salt, tobacco, beads,
soap or clothes. About a third of the people questioned . . . where large
quantities are found, had used them for bartering.
Before cooking or
drying the large varieties of caterpillars are `gutted' by opening the
mouthpart with a bit of stick and squeezing the caterpillar like a concertina
between finger and thumb. If cooked fresh, the caterpillars are then washed,
placed in a pot with cold water and boiled for one and a half hours. Salt is
added. Caterpillars are dried after gutting by roasting over a fire for three
to four hours and then spreading out on a mat in the sun for three to four
days. They are stored in sacks or clay pots.
Before cooking they are
washed in hot water and then placed in a pot with cold water and boiled for
thirty minutes. Alternatively they may be roasted on the fire for a few minutes
and eaten dry.
Thomson
states (p. 33) that small numbers of caterpillars are found everywhere but the
two largest and choicest types, bamumpa (black with yellow and white
spots and black spikes) and ifinkubala (bright green) are found in
quantity in one area only and for only a few weeks. People come from all over
the district, even one or two days' journey, to collect them. Children climb
the trees to collect the caterpillars, but adults select their tree by the
quantity of droppings at the base and then chop the tree down in order to
collect at a more convenient level. Bamumpa live on several kinds of
trees but ifinkubala are found only on the mutondo (Isoberlinia
paniculata). Thomson states, "Large areas are completely devastated in
the caterpillar season and unless this wholesale demolition can be stopped
within a few years all the mutondo trees will have disappeared and the
people will be saying of this area as they already do of others, `A few years
ago there were many caterpillars here but now there are none.'" Thomson further states (p. 56),
"Prohibited cutting of the mutondo trees during the caterpillar
season is essential if caterpillars are to be conserved in the areas where they
are now found."
According
to Thomson (p. 50):
Practically all the
protein in the diet is derived from vegetable sources. The only weeks when
protein intake could be considered reasonably satisfactory were for the lake
village December and January when quantities of fish and caterpillars were
eaten; for village B October to November when they were collecting caterpillars
locally; and for village C when they were eating large quantities of beans in
February.
Thomson indicates (p. 49) that caterpillars are a good
source of vitamins of the B complex in months when the caterpillars are eaten
in quantity, but provides no data. She also mentions (p. 53) that only dried
relishes, e.g. pulses, dried caterpillars fish and meat are taken to school
from the villages. As for economic importance (pp. 54-55), the most profitable
sales were caterpillars, which provided about 28 per cent of the total money
obtained compared to grain (23%), pulses (20%), meat (15%), and hens (05%). Millet
was the most frequently bartered item (33% of exchanges), while caterpillars
were involved in 17% of exchanges.
White (1959: 12-13) gives 18 vernacular names of edible caterpillars
used by the Luvale, the months when each is available and botanical names of
their food plants. Caterpillars of one species or another are available for
most of the year although abundance of a given species varies from year to
year. Many of the food plants are a dominant element in the Luvale countryside.
Most of them are not of great height, thus collecting caterpillars does not
involve as much tree-cutting as is done in some parts of Zambia. Dried
caterpillars are part of Luvale trading to urban centers of Zambia (p. 41) and
a source of cash (p. 43).
Mbata
(1995) states that many species of caterpillars,
most with scientific identity unknown, are part of the human diet in
Zambia. See also Kumar (1990) in the
Introduction.
Lasiocampidae (eggar moths, lappets)
Catalebeda jamesoni B.-Bak, pupa
Pachypasa bilinea Walk., pupa
These
two species (Mbunda term: lingongolila) have large caterpillars with
severely urticant hairs, but edible pupae (Silow 1976, pp.
132-140). The host tree of C.
jamesoni is Pterocarpus angolensis while the host of P. bilinea
is Julbernardia paniculata, although the host range may be wider for
both species. The pupae are
traditionally edible for several ethnic groups, but the custom seems to be
disappearing and is retained mainly by some older people. The pupae are roasted and eaten as relish
with meals or as snacks. They were
apparently never marketed. These are the most feared of the urticant
caterpillars, and both larvae and cocoons (which have urticating hairs woven
in) must be handled with extreme caution.
A
well-liked caterpillar known as cimbua (scientific name unknown) may
belong to this family. It feeds on Swartzia madagascariensis, Brachystegia
type longifolia, and Julbernardia paniculata, and, according to
Silow (pp. 126-131), is without question the caterpillar most often marketed in
the Nkoya and Mashasha territories.
"Cimbua larvae taken from the cocoons are considered to be the best
of all caterpillars. Their fatness, the
nice taste and the softness of their skin are praised. The aroma is compared with that of honey or
nectar. The taste is compared with that
of fried winged termites." A small
gourd full of cocoons (1-2 liters) may be collected from the soil under the
crown of a tree which has had cimbua larvae, or even double that amount
may be collected under a single tree. A
skilled collector can gather as much as 100 liters during a season. The preferred method of preparation is to
roast the larvae in the cocoons. The
cocoons burning over the embers give the larvae a "very nice smoked
taste," which is made more distinct with addition of a little salt. Cimbua larvae are found in the
markets only in the cocoons. They are
in great demand. Until used, the larvae
are stored in the cocoons where they remain alive and fat for at least two
months. There is a brisk trade with
larvae bought from villagers by traders who then sell them for much higher
prices in town.
Limacodidae (slug caterpillars)
A
limacodid caterpillar known as kavambe is eaten by several ethnic
groups. Host trees are Julbernardia paniculata, Brachystegia spiciformis and
Baphia obovata (Silow 1995, pp. 109-113). It is not one of the more popular species,
and its use is apparently declining.
Noctuidae (noctuids)
Busseola fusca Hmps., larva
Heliothis obsoleta Fabr., larva
Sphingomorpha chlorea Cr., larva
Spodoptera exempta Walker, larva
Spodoptera exigua Hubner, larva
Larvae
of B. fusca and H. obsoleta (known as kanguengue) from
maize are traditionally eaten by the Nkangala (Silow 1976, pp. 146-160).
They are eaten boiled or roasted without any preliminary preparation. Silow reports (pp. 38-43) that S. chlorea
(known as mbandama) is a caterpillar of the Burkea africana
forests fringing flooded plains, grasslands and dambos. B. africana is the sole host
tree. The larvae appear in October
preceding the rainy season. In some
years the larvae become abundant, and in those outbreak years they may be eaten
for several days in succession by a whole village. In most years, however, they are more scarce and are hard to
detect. They are always eaten fresh and
are boiled, never roasted. Preserved mbandama larvae are said to be
tasteless. They are not found in the
market.
As of
recently, following several population explosions, the two Spodoptera
species listed above are consumed in Zambia (Mbata 1995).
Notodontidae (prominants)
Anaphe infracta Walk., larva, pupa (less often)
Desmeocraera sp., larva