Chapter
27
Included in
Regional Taxonomic Inventory
Taxa and staqes
consumed Countries
Coleoptera
Carabidae (ground beetles)
Euryscaphus sp., adult
Cerambycidae (long‑horned beetles)
Agrianome spinicollis (author?)
Appectrogastra flavipilis (author?)
Bardistus cibarius Newman, larva
Batocera sp., larva, adult?
Dihamnus sp., adult?
Endoxyla eucalypti (author?), larva
Endoxyla sp., larva
Eurynassa odewahni Pascoe, larva
Hoplocerambyx severus (author?), larva
Mallodon costatus (author?), larva
Mnemopulis edulis (author)
Prionoplus reticularis Wh., larva
Cerambycid larvae/adults
Curculionidae (snout beetles, weevils)
Rhynchoporus bilineatus (author?), larva,
adult
Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Oliv.), adult
Rhynchophorus ferrugineus papuanus (author?),
larva, pupa,
adult
Curculionid larvae
Lucanidae (stag beetles)
Lucanid grubs
Passalidae (bess beetles)
Passalid grubs
Scarabaeidae (scarab beetles)
Anophlognathus viridiaenneus Hope, larva
Lepidiota vogeli Brenske, adult
Oryctes centaurus (author?), larva, adult
Oryctes rhinoceros Linn., larva
Oryctes sp., larva
Scapanes sp., larva
Xylotrupes gideon (Linn.), larva
Diptera
Edible fly adult
Bibionidae (March flies)
"March flies"
Ephemeroptera
Mayfly adults
Hemiptera
Leaf bugs of various families
Coreidae (leaf‑footed bugs)
Leaf bugs
Homoptera
Cicadidae (cicadas)
Baeturia sp.
Cicadina sp.
Diceropyga sp.
Cicadas/cicada manna
Cicadellidae (leafhoppers)
Leafhopper
Coccoidea (scale insects)
Apiomorpha pomiformis Froggatt, gall
Austrotachardia acaciae (Frogg.), lerp
sugar
Psyllidae (psyllids)
Eucalyptolyma sp., lerp sugar
Spondyliaspis eucalypti Dobson, lerp manna
Psylla or lerp manna
Psyllina sp.
Hymenoptera
Galls (families unknown)
Apidae (honeybees)
Trigona spp., larvae, pupae
Formicidae (ants)
Camponotus consobrinus (author?), pupa
Camponotus inflatus (Lubb.), "honey‑pot"
Colobopsis grasseri (author?), pupa
Melophorus bagoti Lubb., "honey‑pot"
Melophorus cowleyi Frogg., "honey‑pot"
Melophorus midas (author?), "honey‑pot"
Myrmecia pyriformis (author?), pupa Australia
Myrmecia sanguinea (author?), pupa Australia
Oecophylla smaragdina (Fabr.), larva, adult Australia,
Papua New Guinea
Oecophylla virescens (author?) Australia
Various ants/ant pupae Papua
New Guinea
Perilampidae
Trachilogastir sp., mulga apple (gall) Australia
Vespidae (wasps, hornets)
Wasp brood Australia,
Papua New Guinea
Isoptera
Termites Australia,
Papua New Guinea
Lepidoptera
Caterpillars/lepidopterous woodborers Australia
Social caterpillars and their pupae Papua
New Guinea
Cossidae (carpenter moths, leopard moths)
Catoxophylla cyanauges Turner, adult Australia
Cossus sp., larva Australia
Xyleutes amphiplecta Turner, larva Australia
Xyleutes biarpiti Tindale, larva Australia
Xyleutes boisduvali Herrich‑Schaeffer, larva Australia
Xyleutes eucalypti Scott, larva Australia
Xyleutes leucomochla Turner, larva Australia
Zeuzera citurata (author?), larva Australia
Zeuzera eucalypti (author?), larva Australia
Additional cossid spp. larvae Australia
Hepialidae (ghost moths and swifts)
Abantiades marcidus Tindale, larva, pupa, adult Australia
Oxycanus spp., larvae, pupae, adults
Australia
Trictena argentata Herrich‑Schaeffer, larva, pupa, adult
Australia
Trictena argyrosticha Turner, larva, pupa, adult
Australia
Noctuidae (noctuids)
Agrotis infusa (Boisd.), adult Australia
Psychidae (bagworm moths)
Panacela sp., larva Australia
Sphingidae (hawk‑moths)
Coenotes eremophilae (author?) Australia
Hyles lineata livornicoides (author?)
Australia
Hawk moth adults Papua
New Guinea
Family unknown
Strigops grandis (author?), larva Australia
Mantodea
Mantidae (mantids)
Hierodula sternosticta (author?) Papua
New Guinea
Tenodera sp. Papua
New Guinea
Odonata
Zygopteran (damselfly) larvae Papua
New Guinea
Libellulidae (common skimmers)
Dragonfly larvae Papua
New Guinea
Orthoptera
Acrididae (short‑horned grasshoppers)
Chorticetes terminifera (author?)
Australia
Locusta migratoria (Linn.) Papua
New Guinea
Valanga irregularis (Walk.) Papua
New Guinea
Grasshoppers/locusts Australia,
Papua New Guinea
Blattidae (roaches)
Cockroaches Australia
Gryllacrididae (wingless long‑horned grasshoppers)
Foliage crickets, tree‑hole crickets Papua
New Guinea
Gryllidae (crickets)
Teleogryllus commodus (author?) Australia,
Papua New Guinea
Gryllotalpidae (mole‑crickets)
Gryllotalpa sp. Papua
New Guinea
Tettigoniidae (long‑horned
grasshoppers)
Caedicia
sp. Papua
New Guinea
Valanga sp.
Papua New Guinea
Edible
small green grasshoppers Papua
New Guinea
Phasmatodea
Phasmatidae
(stick insects)
Eurycantha
horrida (author?) Papua
New Guinea
Extatosoma
tiaratum (author?) Papua
New Guinea
Phasmatinae
spp. Papua
New Guinea
Phyliidae
(leaf insects)
Mictis
sp. Papua
New Guinea
A great
variety of insects is eaten in Papua New Guinea, one of which is the famous sago
grub, Rhynchophorus ferrugineus papuanus which is not only widely eaten
and widely marketed, but the center of annual "grub festivals." They are "tender and sweet with a
slightly nutty flavor," and are bought by Europeans as well as Papua New
Guineans. They are important
nutritionally, making up 30% of the protein intake of some Sepik peoples
(McQueen 1993), and are a good source of fat and other nutrients such as iron
and zinc. The grubs breed in the rotting
pith of sago palms, and Mercer (1994) has described in detail the production
process. It is one of the better
examples of environmentally efficient
food production, and the grubs are a significant source of rural income. They are important not only in Papua New
Guinea; according to Oliver (1989), sago grubs are among the wild biota most
widely eaten by Pacific islanders.
Another
environmentally efficient system, although on a smaller scale, is described by
Mercer (1993). In the Gabensis logging
area near Lae, PNG, villagers harvest large numbers of the cerambycid grub, Hoplocerambyx
severus, from Anisoptera polyandra logs. To indicate abundance of the grubs, Mercer mentions that he was able to extract nearly 100 grubs from a single log in
little more than 15 minutes.
Orsak
(1993a) laments that New Guineans, to their economic and nutritional
disadvantage, are coming to believe that eating insects is "bush
behavior" and something to be discarded in their progress toward
development. But it is obvious from the
writings of researchers and educators who are familiar with the country that
insects are an important part of the diet of Papua New Guineans. Mercer (1993) states that, "Nutritional
programs in the future should recognise this fact."
In
Australia, there is a voluminous literature on the insects used as food by the
Aborigines. The use of insects was
widespread if not universal (Waterhouse 1971), partly because, in the harsh
environment of Australia, insects were at times almost the only available
foodstuffs, and partly because some were regarded as special delicacies. Some
of the edible species are represented on totems and in ceremony, myth, song and
art (see Spencer and Gillen 1899, Bodenheimer 1951, Strehlow 1971, and Roheim
1974, among others). Among the most
prized insects as food were witchety grubs (Cossidae), the bogong moth
(Noctuidae), the bardee larva (Cerambycidae), honeypot ants, honey and brood of
the stingless bees and the sweet manna of various lerp insects.
Calvert
(1894) noted that whereas intelligent, well-armed white people will die of
hunger in the desert, the native will find a sufficiency of food. Tindale (1953) states that, "Aborigines
with access to witjuti grubs usually are healthy and properly nourished
. . . Women and children spend much time digging for them and a healthy baby
seems often to have one dangling from its mouth in much the same way that one
of our children would be satisfied with a baby comforter." Similarly, Mountford (1946) provided a
photograph of a native baby, "fat and saucy," who "thrives on a
diet of mother's milk, white grubs, and honey ants," and Mountford
emphasizes that the child's home is in the Mann Range "where previous
travelers' reports indicated that the country was too bad to support even
aborigines." Nutrient analyses of
witchetty grubs (James 1983) show a protein and fat content of 15.1% and 19.2%,
respectively. The roasted grubs are
delicate and nutty in flavor (Waterhouse 1971), similar to scrambled eggs,
roast pork, or bone marrow. Several
other grubs are also considered delicious, such as the "marrow-like" bardi
(Bardistus cibarius) and other cerambycid species and hepialid grubs
such as Trictena argentata which tastes like "the baked skin on
roast pork."
The
bogong moth was also very important nutritionally. The moths breed at lower elevations in New
South Wales and southern Queensland, but moths of the spring generation migrate
to the mountains where they aestivate for several months in vast assemblages on
the granite outcroppings (Common 1954). They were a favorite food of upland
Aborigines, who came from long distances and camped for two or three months
each summer while collecting, cooking and feasting on the moths. Helms (1895), Jardine (1901), Flood (1980)
and others have described how this moth diet rendered the Aborigines fat, sleek
and in excellent condition, remindful of similar accounts from South Africa
pertaining to the effect of termites or locusts on indigenous populations. The fat content of the summer-aestivating
moths is high, abdomens of males averaging more than 61% and of females 51% on
a dry weight basis (Common 1954). The
flavor is described as like burnt almond or walnut.
As in
other arid regions, sweets such as Trigona honey, lerp manna, and honey
ants were much prized by the Aborigines.
Of honey ants, Basedow (1904) stated, "The natives are passionately
fond of these little luxuries of the bush and spend hours collecting the
same." Considerable digging, often
to a depth of 4-6 feet, is required to unearth the ants, and Spencer (1928 I)
remarks that, "in some places the whole surface of the ground was turned
over, just as if a small army of prospectors had been at work." The work is done mainly by women and
children. Conway (1985b) reports that,
in order to avoid destroying the colonies, the nests are only partially dug up,
thereby preserving a valuable resource.
The
influence of European intrusion is discussed by Macfarlane (1978) who says,
"The overall picture of these [hunter/gatherers] as they made contact with
European foods and culture, was that of well fed infants and adults." He mentions that social organization, the
sharing with other members of the group anything that was caught, also tended
to reduce malnutrition.
Finlayson
(1943) was impressed by the generosity of the native people in matters of food
distribution, all food obtained becoming the common property of the group. It seems probable that this admirable
attitude of sharing was important for surviving under the harsh conditions in
which these people lived. Cutter (1978)
also discusses problems of assimilation and reasons why people are moving back
to traditional areas, thus reinforcing traditional culture although most want
to maintain a cash economy and 'white services.'
An
interesting recent development in Australia is the explosion of interest in
native, or "bush tucker," foods, including insects such as witchetti
grubs. Scherer reported in the Christian
Science Monitor (1991) that bush foods are "increasingly appealing to
hotels and restaurants frequented by tourists," including the 19 motel
Australian chain, the Country Comfort Inn which has made native foods the
signature of its restaurants. "Bush
food has also taken to the air on Australian Airlines, and the Australian
Broadcasting Corporation," while, "book stores are well-stocked with
books on bush tucker." Witchetty
grubs are on the menu of the posh Rountrees on Sydney's North Shore, while Bush
Tucker Supplies, in Sydney, supplies bush tucker to more than 40 restaurants
across Australia (Pfeiff and Hutchison, The Globe and Mail [Canada],
1993) and exports bush tucker to Japan (Irvine 1989).
PAPUA
NEW GUINEA
Von
Miklucho-Maclay (1875, p. 70; vide Bodenheimer 1951, p. 135)
stated: "All insects without
exception, especially big beetles, are eaten raw or cooked by the Papuans"
[translation not yet available]. Hagen
(1899; vide Bodenheimer, p. 135) also reported the consumption of
insects by Papuans. According to van
der Sande (1907, p. 4), the Papuan eats practically any animal that
is harmless, "for the Papuan has no aversion to anything on account of
outward appearance." Because,
however, necklaces of chitinous exoskeletons were not observed, van der Sande
presumed that beetles were not eaten. He
was also unable to verify the use of hornets' nests as a delicacy, as mentioned
earlier by Biro.
According
to Pospisil (1963a: 244; vide Oliver 1989: 241), the Kapauku in the Wissel Lakes area
identify and eat more than 50 species of insects, along with three species of
amphibians, and the eggs of numerous species of birds. Clarke (1971: 92; vide Oliver 1989: 241) reports that insects are eaten by the
Maring-speaking people in the Ndwimba Basin (Bismarck Range). The much-relished grub called kima is
eaten only by the men.
Meyer-Rochow (1973) reported
on the food habits of three groups of Melanesians, the Kiriwinians, the Chuave,
and the Onabasulu, and tabulated the use of a wide variety of insects. The Kiriwinians inhabit the Trobriand
Islands. They raise pigs and chickens,
harvest primarily yam, taro, sweet potato, and coconut, and live on a balanced
diet of fruits, vegetables, fish, and meat (mainly poultry). The inland people consume less fish than the
coastal people. Kiriwinians living on
the coast denied eating any insects and referred to the inland people as insect
eaters. Meyer-Rochow noted, however,
that the coastal people know well which insects are edible, and some were seen
eating the yellow leaf ant, Oecophylla smaragdina.
The
Chuave live in the central highlands of New Guinea and are part of the Chimbu
people. Sweet potato is the principal
food, followed by taro, yam and banana.
Animals are eagerly hunted and pigs are raised, although slaughtered
only infrequently. The population
density is high (approximately 100/mile2) and malnutrition and
starvation are fairly widespread. The
Onabasulu live in the area north of Mt. Bosavi, and, until recently, were
cannibalistic. The principal foods are
sago, cooking bananas, and taro, and protein sources including mammals,
marsupials, wild birds, fish and crustaceans are readily available. Pigs are raised and slaughtered when
necessary.
Apparent
differences that were found in food insect use by the three groups may or may
not be related to differences in human population density and/or adequacy of
total food supply available to each group.
The Kiriwinians, with a population density that was intermediate, and
who were in the best nutritional health of the three groups, used a variety of
insects almost as great as that of the Chuave whose population density was
highest and who were the poorest-off nutritionally. The Kiriwinians used a greater variety of
insects than did the lower density Onabasulu who appeared to have an equally
adequate conventional food supply. How
closely "variety" of insect use can be equated with volume of insect
use in this study, however, is not clear.
Also, as mentioned by Meyer-Rochow, only three weeks or less were spent
with each of the three ethnic groups, and it is possible that some insects that
were not in season may have been missed in the survey.
Specific
food insects used, as found by Meyer-Rochow, for the three ethnic groups are
tabulated below under the appropriate orders and families. From this study, Meyer-Rochow concluded: "If the new Papua and New Guinea
government can be persuaded not to accept the European attitude toward insects
as human food, it would act to the benefit of vast numbers of natives. Instead
of wasting resources in destroying certain insects often regarded as crop
pests, the insects themselves should be used.
Quite often they represent a higher nutritional value than the vegetable
that they have been eating...."
Meyer-Rochow (1975)
provides Kiriwina, Chuave, and Onabasulu terms for a number of insects,
including some that are edible. These
are applied below under the appropriate orders and families.
Dornstreich (1977, p.
254; author's Table III) tracked the number of occasions over a period
of about 10 weeks in which the 18 members of one Gadio hamlet, classified by
age and sex, engaged in various types of food-getting activity. The eight adult males engaged in a total of
341 occasions: gardening 168, sago
making 27, gathering cultivated tree nuts and fruits 25, gathering wild tree
nuts and fruits 8, gathering other plants 12, fishing 26, hunting and trapping
15, collecting grubs 33, and collecting other small animals and insects
25. The five adult females engaged in
320 occasions: gardening 186, sago
making 33, gathering cultivated tree nuts and fruits 8, gathering wild tree nuts
and fruits 16, gathering other plants 42, fishing 8, hunting and trapping 0,
collecting grubs 10, collecting other small animals and insects 17.
Apina (1979?)
discusses the need for extension work on edible insects as a source of protein
in Papua New Guinea. [This paper not yet seen]
Meyer-Rochow (1982)
notes that (translation): "In a
state such as Papua New Guinea, where until very recently there had been no
intrusion into either the culture or the traditions of the people, eating
insects is still common practice in many places, even today."
May (1984)
mentions that a variety of insects are collected and eaten, mostly by children.
They include the larvae and adults of beetles, butterflies, moths, wasps, and
dragonflies, and adult grasshoppers, crickets, stick insects, and cicadas. More
detailed comment, when given, is included under the appropriate taxons below.
May also mentions that the large orb weaving spiders of the genus Nephila
are also considered a delicacy. They are plucked by the legs from their webs
and lightly roasted over an open fire. Other species of spiders are also eaten.
Meigs (1988, pp.
163-164) lists "food rules" (taboos) for eating various kinds of
insects among the Hua, located in the Eastern Highlands Province of Papua New
Guinea. Unfortunately, only the Hua
names are given for the insects.
The use
of insects as food on the island of Bougainville is mentioned by Oliver (1991,
pp. 98-99):
The starch obtained from the pith of the trunk [sago palm] was a substitute food staple, fronds were the principal thatching material, the broad bases of branches were used as troughs, and rotting palm stumps crawled with choice edible grubs. . . Collecting edible insects was only an incidental activity. If people saw them they sometimes tried to catch them; there were no special implements involved. In addition to the sago grubs, which were regarded as a delicacy, the Siwai liked to eat beetles, white ants [termites?] - large and small - and certain kinds of spiders.
Gillison (1993, pp.
125-126) describes how the Gimi in the Eastern Highlands Province use grubs or
caterpillars in divination by cooking them with marsupials; the marsupials and
insects are eaten after the ceremony.
Orsak (1993a)
comments as follows:
Here in Papua New Guinea, we
regularly eat insects, not necessarily cooked. The fare includes giant
orb-weaving spiders, giant stinkbugs, and other exotica. The sad thing is, New
Guinean villagers are coming to believe that this is 'bush kanaka' behavior,
something to be discarded as they enter the developing world. More and more
frequently, they are likely to forego this cheap source of protein in favor of
expensive 'tinned fish' or corned beef. Status is a very important human need
to be met in Melanesian culture, and buying, instead of collecting protein fits
into the syndrome. But spending the little money they have on unnecessary
things can be debilitating in a country where all school children must pay
school fees, and thousands of villagers remain largely outside of the cash
economy. Suffice it to say that I spend a lot of time lobbying people to stick
to the bug-eating as one of their pathways to development!
Mercer (1993)
states that, in PNG, many species are eaten in one locality or another. The
species he discusses are included under the appropriate taxa below. He
concludes that: "Insects are an important, but largely unrecognised part
of the diet of Papua New Guineans. Nutritional programmes in [the] future
should recognise this fact." In a broader context, he concludes that the
predicted world protein shortage could be ameliorated by using insect protein,
but that an education program would be necessary "to overcome the taboos
currently held in the West."
Dr. Mercer, who, at the time was
Senior Lecturer in Entomology at the PNG University of Technology, in Lae,
commented (1995): "The majority of my students are keen consumers
of a whole range of insects when they return to their villages during vacation
time. I have come to the conclusion that
it is the West which is out of step in its aversion to insects as food!"
Meyer-Rochow
and Changkija (1997) report, without further elaboration, that additional
research shows that the postulated correlation between number of insects
consumed and human population density of the three ethnic groups studied by
Meyer-Rochow (1973) is not valid.
Coleoptera
See May
(1984) in Introduction.
Cerambycidae (long-horned beetles)