Chapter 28

 

                                                         OCEANIA; AUSTRALIA

 

Taxonomic Inventory (see Regional Inventory, Chapter 27)

 

            There are many references to edible "grubs" in the Australian literature.  Most of these undoubtedly refer to coleopterous larvae of the families Buprestidae or Cerambycidae or lepidopterous larvae of the family Cossidae.  In cases where the family identity of the insect is not clear, the paper is cited here in the Introduction.

            Barrallier (1802:  755-757, 813; vide Flood 1980: 296) reported that grubs and ants' eggs were eaten along the Nepean River, the former observed in December.  Cunningham (1827, I p. 345) wrote:  "Our wood-grub is a long soft thick worm, much relished by the natives, who have a wonderful tact in knowing what part of the tree to dig into for it, when they quickly pull it out and gobble it up with as much relish as an English epicure would an oyster."

These grubs are mainly woodborers in acacia.

            Meredith (1844: 94) reported that large grubs, "which are reckoned great luxuries," are eaten at Bathurst.

            Davies (1846, p. 414; vide Bodenheimer 1951, pp. 134-135) reported that the natives of Tasmania ate a large white grub found in rotten wood and in Banksia.  Bodenheimer suggests that the grub, about 5 cm in length, was probably the larva of Zeuzera eucalypti (McKeown).  The Tasmanians also considered ant pupae a delicacy.

            Brough Smyth (1878, I, pp. 206-207, 211-212) discusses several kinds of insects used as food in Victoria.  In addition, they collect honey of excellent flavor produced by a small wild bee called Wirotheree.  Grubs that are eaten in Victoria include Zeuzera citurata and Endoxyla eucalypti which are found in the wattle (Martthem krang), an undescribed species of Endoxyla found in the white-gum (Ballook krang), and an unidentified species of grub from the honeysuckle (Tharathun krang).  The grubs are named from the trees from which they are collected.  The grubs may be eaten raw or cooked for a short time in hot ashes.  According to Brough Smyth, Bugong moths (Agrotus suffusa) are greedily devoured by the natives. See also Brough Smyth (I) under Formicidae and Psyllidae.  Brough Smyth (1878, II, p. 392) mentions that grubs and ant pupae are among the foods of the natives of Tasmania.

            Dawson (1881, pp. 20-21) mentions, in western Victoria, large numbers of pupae (from large green processional caterpillars) which are dug from the ground during the winter at the foot of gum trees and baked in hot ashes.  Grubs cut from trees and dead timber, and "about the size of the little finger," are eaten alive "with as much pleasure as a white man eats a living oyster."  When roasted on embers, "they are delicate and nutty in flavour."  Grubs from the trunks of the common wattle tree (Acacia) are considered the finest and sweetest.  With the aid of an axe and a small hooked wand, which is carried by every hunter, the grubs are pulled from their holes in the wood.  Dawson states that when the women and children hear the sound of chopping, "they hasten to partake of the food, which they enjoy above all others."  See also under Psyllidae.

            Lumholtz (1889) mentions several kinds of insects used as food by the aborigines in Queensland.  See below under Cerambycidae, Apidae and Acrididae.

            In New South Wales "grubs" of all kinds are eaten as are ants and ant larvae (Fraser 1892, pp. 52-53).  Calvert (1894 [or 1898?], pp. 17-29; vide Bodenheimer 1951, pp. 74-75) discusses the lifestyle of the aborigines of Western Australia, noting that whereas intelligent well-armed white people will die of hunger in the desert, the native will find a sufficiency of food.  Four kinds of grubs and two kinds of manna are part of their fare.  Grubs which are "extremely palatable" are procured from the grass tree and also from the wattle tree.  They are eaten raw or roasted but apparently are improved by cooking.  Calvert did not try them, but was told they have a nut-like flavor.

            Stirling (1896; vide Bodenheimer 1951, pp. 72-74) cites several earlier reports on insect foods of Central Australia and adds additional information.  He states:  "There are few living animals that come amiss to the Central Australian aborigines.  To mention the names of all that are eaten would be largely to recapitulate the zoology of the district."  Lerp manna is mentioned as being noted at various localities, particularly in the bed of the Todd River near Alice Springs and at the junction of the Hugh and Finke rivers.  The leaves of Eucalyptus rostrata and E. microtheca bore the small white conical coverings of psyllid larvae.  Witchetty grubs and other smaller larvae from the roots of acacias are eaten.  The honeypots of the sugar ants are a favourite article of food when obtainable, and there appears to be a special ceremony to promote the supply.  Melophorus inflatus (the common yarumpa) and M. cowleyi (the ittutunie) were eaten as was M. midas probably.

            Roth (1897, p. 93) reported as follows on the insect foods of the Pitta-Pitta aborigines:

 

            Certain species of ants--a green variety among the Mitakoodi--are eaten raw:  the individual stands or stamps upon an ant-bed from which these creatures will run up his legs and thighs, and get scraped or swept off as fast as they come up.  Smaller kinds of grubs and caterpillars, especially those found on the grass (ka-pa-ra, both of the Boulia and Cloncurry Districts) may be eaten raw and whole:  the larger varieties, found in trees, (ka-lo-rung-or-o of the Boulia) are usually roasted, the heads not being eaten, or may be dried in the sun, and put away for future occasion.  [Sects. 53 and 84 (Fig. 84) of this work should be seen]

 

            There is a honey ant or yarumpa totem, yarumpa being the Arunta name for the honey ant, Camponotus inflatus Lubbock.  Spencer and Gillen (1899, pp. 186-189) described the intichiuma or sacred ceremony of the yarumpa totem and the religious significance of the intichiuma and totems in general (pp. 167-170, 202-211).  They relate the tale of the "Wanderings of the Honey-Ant People" (pp. 438-439), and describe the intichiuma of the udnirringita or witcheti (mispelled witchetty) grub totem (pp. 170-179).

            Basedow (1904, pp. 16-17) states that:

 

            When the season is favorable, grubs (`ilguare' and `iljaleti') and caterpillars (`udnamarre') are extensively collected and devoured.  The `ilguare' lives on the roots of species of Acacia and Cassia, and it is interesting to watch a native hunting for these.  A long rod with a chisel edge at one end, and often referred to as yamstick (`wanna') is forced into the ground at the side of the main stem of the bush and leverage applied.  If the root has been attacked by grubs it will readily give way to the strain, and the native consequently sets to work with his "wanna" and hands to unearth the grub.  Less difficulty is experienced in finding the `iljaleti' (larvae of Cossus sp.) which lives in the trunks of eucalypts.

 

Basedow mentions that at the time of their arrival in the ranges, the ground was covered with large green caterpillars that were collected by the natives in large wooden vessels called "mika" carried upon the heads of the women.  Grubs and caterpillars are thrown upon hot ashes to roast, but the latter are allowed to remain there for only a very short time, being eaten almost raw.

            Parker (1905, pp. 110, 114; vide Bodenheimer, pp. 126, 130-131), in his report on the Enahleyi tribe of northwestern N.S. Wales, states that ant larvae and frogs are considered excellent food.  Honey collected from stingless bees is eaten mixed with wax and dead bees.  Parker relates an Enahleyi legend that a manna-rich year precedes severe drowth, a tradition that, according to Bodenheimer, is widespread in Australian literature.

            Thomas (1906, pp. 110-112) states that insects are important articles of food in many parts of Australia.  Agrotis spina is important in New South Wales where the adult moths are collected by lighting fires under the huge rocks on which they collect.  When the moths fall they are collected in bushel-baskets; a fire is built to heat the ground and then the ashes are pushed aside and the moths are winnowed on the hot ground.  This removes the wings and "down."  They are then eaten or pounded, or if to be kept longer than a week, they are smoked.  They resemble a sweet nut in taste, but have a bad effect for the first few days on those who eat them.  Despite that, according to Thomas, both the natives and their dogs grow fat on them.  Beetles, wasp larvae, March flies and caterpillars are all eaten on occasion.  Many kinds of beetle grubs are eaten, and, as described earlier by Dawson (1881), a special instrument is carried for pulling them out of the trees.  Ant pupae and larvae are also a favourite food.  In Queensland ants and pupae are eaten together, mixed with salt water.  Honey is much sought after and Thomas also mentions the sweet secretion of Psylla which is sometimes eaten, sometimes infused in water and fermented as a drink.

            Campbell (1926, pp. 407-410; vide Bodenheimer, pp. 75, 103, 114) commented (p. 410):

 

            Among the Australian aborigines the variety of foodstuffs is considerable, not only from choice, but also owing to the difficulty of obtaining a permanent and regular supply of any one article of diet....In fact almost anything capable of being chewed is regarded as food.  During drought and the absence of large game, the maintenance of an adequate food supply is one of the greatest problems for these mere food-gatherers.  Thus it is not surprising that larger-bodied or abundant insects are eagerly collected.  Most insects appear in a district for a comparatively short time each season, and the appearance of species needed for food was treated by the natives as a matter of great importance.

 

            Other insects mentioned by Campbell (Bodenheimer, pp. 75-76) include the migrating Bugong-moth (Euxoa infusa) which was of great significance for some tribes in New South Wales, while the larva causes damage to crops in some years.  The 'sugar bags' of Trigona-bees, like the green tree-ant (O. smaragdina), are largely restricted to the tropical and subtropical areas of the North.  The honeypot ants, Melophorus, Camponotus spp. and others, are eagerly sought for in Central and Northern Australia, while in Central and Southern Australia, the caterpillars of large hepialid and cossid moths, including the witchetty grubs are of great importance.  Everywhere, the larvae of beetles such as the longicorn, Eurynassa australis, are collected from living or decaying trees, mainly Eucalyptus or Acacia.  In addition to these, many other butterflies, grasshoppers, termites, cockroaches, cicadas, lerp-insects, and numerous others have been used as food by the Australian natives.  See also under Formicidae.

            Cleland (1940, p. 14) notes that while civilized man has made remarkable and, in some cases, lamentable, changes in his environment, there has been no serious depletion of any plant or animal species because of its use as food by the natives.  "They did, however, exercise some control by extracting the large white witchetty or bardi grubs of certain beetles and moths found in the stems and roots of a number of native trees and shrubs." These destructive wood-infestng grubs were eaten by the natives.

            Johnston (1943) summarized aboriginal names and use of the fauna, including insects (pp. 301-307), in the Eyrean region. Many coleopterous larvae, especially cerambycids and buprestids are eaten, but Johnston notes (p. 303), as noted at the beginning of this chapter, that earlier references to larvae usually do not distinguish between Coleoptera and Lepidoptera. He discusses both, therefore, in a section titled Insect Larvae. Distinctions between grubs in the native languages usually refer to the host tree or shrub and habitat within the host. Concerning ants, Johnston cites Mrs. Duncan-Kemp (1933) that natives mixed ant honey with diluted nectar from bauhinias and allowed the mixture to ferment 8-10 days to produce a semi-toxicant.   Also cited is an early (1846) report by Schürmann:

 

             . . . large white grubs found sparingly in ant hills about September along with the very numerous small red insects were eaten by the Pangkala after having been sorted out by placing the mass (containing earth and insects) on a large piece of bark (yuta) about 4 feet long and 8 to 10 inches wide. The material was thrown up repeatedly and caught in the yuta, which was held in such a way that the heaviest portion became sorted out towards one end, the lightest towards the other, and the grubs in the middle part. These living grubs were then wrapped in a clean dry grass and chewed and sucked until all nutriment was abstracted.

   

Duncan-Kemp is also cited by Johnston regarding mantis being roasted on hot stones and eaten.

            Finlayson (1943) mentions (p. 30) that the roots of the broadleafed mulga or witchetty bush, "harbour a grub beloved by the blacks," and that honey ants (pp. 85-86) are "relished exceedingly."  Frequently, a half a day's heavy digging will be done, following the galleries to a depth of four feet in order to obtain 50-100 ants.  The sweetness of the thin ant syrup, according to Finlayson, "is relieved by a slight acidity and a flavour of malt."  Finlayson was very much impressed by the generosity of the native people (pp. 91-93): 

 

            Correlated perhaps with their lack of a property sense, but none the less admirable for that, is the blacks' generosity and impartiality in matters of food distribution.  All food obtained becomes the common property of the group, and is brought in and distributed by the older men to all who require it, regardless of any special claims which might be put forward (but never are) by the man who obtained it.  Time and time again this generosity has been extended to white men in extremis.  In the matter of water, the blacks' attitude has been almost quixotically generous, and in a country where water is a vital thing, he has shared freely with the invader and his ravenous stock...

 

            McKeown (1944a, p. 38; vide Bodenheimer 1951, p. 106) describes, similarly to previous observers, the procedure used by native women in digging out the yarumpa honey ants from great depths, sometimes six feet or more.  McKeown (pp. 68, 69 [this may be McKeown 1944b rather than 1944a]; vide Bodenheimer, p. 99) mentions that great hordes of the Bugong moths at times migrate to the coastal regions, occasionally invading eastern urban areas.  McKeown (p. 177; vide Bodenheimer, p. 133) mentions termites as occasional food.  McKeown (1944b, pp. 182 and following; vide Bodenheimer, p. 103) discusses honey ants and notes that Leptomyrmex varians Em. of Queensland stores its honey in a similar manner.  McKeown provides a drawing of Melophorus inflatus (p. 183).  McKeown (p. 106; vide Bodenheimer, pp. 128-129) discusses lerp-sugar, the common sugar-lerp insect being Spondyliaspis eucalypti Dob. (Psyllidae), which is widespread in Australia.  The sweet "manna" is much prized by the natives who sometimes also concocted a sweet drink by steeping them in water.

            Mountford (1946) recorded observations made along the Mann Range, the country of the Pitjendadjara, in central Australia.  He states (p. 100):

 

            The menu of my companions was certainly varied; in fact, they ate everything that was edible--grubs, lizards, ants, kangaroos, emus, grasses, and seeds of many kinds.  I have eaten many of these foods with relish.

 

            The large white wood grubs, although loathsome in appearance, are particularly palatable, although I must admit it took a lot of determination to eat the first one.  They are, indeed, surprisingly similar to roast pork.  Lizard tastes like chicken, and kangaroo like delicately flavored beef.  Honey ants are as sweet as any honey.

 

            Mountford confesses that he did not try all of the foods, dingo (native dog) and cat, for example.  Mountford provides a photograph (p. 98) of a native baby, "fat and saucy," who "thrives on a diet of mother's milk, white grubs, and honey ants."  The author drives home the point 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."

            Sweeney (1947) reported on the foods of the Wailbri tribe, which formerly occupied the extensive desert area lying to the northwest of Alice Springs in central Australia.  More than 80 percent of their area is desert comprising spinifex and sandhill country with sparse and poor desert timbers.  Mulga, an acacia tree edible for stock, growing in the low rainfall areas, belongs to the grass country and does not grow to any extent in the spinifex.  The mulga and grass country, which includes the hill and creek areas and is the region of higher and more dependable rainfall, represents about 10 percent of the Wailbri tribal territory.  At the time of Sweeney's study, the remnant of the Wailbri numbered about 600 natives, about half of whom had emigrated north seeking easier food supplies.  As to tribal vitality, Sweeney notes that about 30 percent of the people are children, including many healthy infants in arms.

            As to foods, honey from the native stingless bees is collected during the winter months.  The nests are built in the hollows of trees, and the areas favored are those where eucalyptus grows, a type of terrain to which the Wailbri have only limited access.  Honey ants, called "Yurambi" by the Wailbri, are found in mulga grass country and they feed mainly in the mulga trees.  The repletes are dug out of the ground by the women.  Because of their restricted distribution, to gum creeks and flats and the mulga areas, honey from both bees and ants is found only in small quantities.  A number of trees produce growths around gall insects, which are used as food, the most useful in Wailbri country being the "bloodwood Apple" which grows to three inches in diameter.  The gall insect itself is eaten, as is the kernal or inside layers of growth around the insect.  After the insect completes its life cycle and leaves, the "apple" loses its food value.

            Sweeney describes an edible fly as follows:

 

            In-djila-barinba is the Wailbri term for a fly, whose body is about ½ inch long; when the wings are closed the length is 3/4 inch.  They frequent the desert bloodwood trees, and make a singing noise with their wings.  When they die they fall to the ground and into the spinifex, and are collected by the natives and eaten without any preparation or cooking.  The flies are also eaten by the desert goanas. The flies make a sweet substance which is attached to the bloodwoods and which is also used as food.

 

            Of edible grubs, Sweeney says:

 

            There are a number of grubs used as food by the desert native.  Edible grubs are found in the eucalyptus genus of trees, but the most common is the witchetty grub found in the roots of the witchetty bush (an acacia); they grow up to 4 inches long and are eaten raw or cooked.  The witchetty is a common bush growing in the mulga and grass country; it also grows in the spinifex country edging the mulga.  Edible grubs are a common food among the desert natives.

 

            Bodenheimer (1951), in addition to his review of previous literature on the use of insects in Australia, devotes a section to insect totems, their intichiuma ceremonies and legends.  Quite a number of totem animals are insects and the interested reader should consult Bodenheimer (pp. 76-82).  Bodenheimer also devotes a section to the "honey-bags" or honeybees of Australia, all of the native species belonging to the stingless genus Trigona (Meliponidae) (pp. 115-128).

            Bourne (1953, pp. 62-63) mentions several insects used as food but provides little information that has not been encountered in the previous literature.  Insects mentioned include ant pupae as a staple food, and white ants [termites] mixed with ground seeds and baked.  Some types of moths are very popular and when roasted taste like unpeeled almonds; natives in some parts of the country periodically feast on moths that are attracted to the fires at night and are thrown into the ashes before being consumed.  Many caterpillars are popular, particularly the green ones; they are flung into the hot ashes until the body straightens and the hairs are singed away.  Most popular among the many forms of larvae eaten are those of the big Cossus moth known as the Witchedy grub.  There are two species, one developing in the roots of acacia, the other in the butt of eucalyptus trees.  The flavor is said to resemble slightly sweetened scrambled eggs.  The honey of wild bees is eaten with relish.  Other insects discussed include the honey ant, Melophorus inflatus, and lerp manna found on leaves of the red gum (Eucalyptus rostrata) and secreted by Psylla larvae.  Bourne (p. 65) mentions several food taboos; one is that expectant mothers in some tribes are not allowed to eat grubs, among other things.

            Bourne (p. 59) provides a valuable discussion on the effect that the coming of the white man has had on the nutrition (adverse) of the aborigines.

            Bluett (1954:  5, 27-28; vide Flood 1980:  296-297) mentions, from indirect observation, the use of witchetty grubs and Bogong moths in the Canberra district.

            Reim (1962) published an extensive paper on the use of insects as food in Australia [this long paper in German is on hand, but not yet translated].  Much of the information is apparently gleaned from the literature.  Species mentioned include:  Coleoptera:  Agrianome spinicollis (Cerambycidae), Appectrogastra flavipilis, Bardistus cibarius Newman, Eurynassa odewahni Pascoe, Mnemopulis edulis (Cerambycidae), Xyleutes boisduvali Herrich-Schaeffer, X. eucalypti Scott, X. sp., Passalus (?), Gyrinidae (?); Homoptera:  Cicadina, Psyllina, Spondyliaspis eucalypti Dobson; Hymenoptera:  Camponotus spp., Formica consobrina, Melophorus, Myrmecia pyriformis, M. sanguinea, Oecophylla virescens Fabr., Trigona honey; Isoptera:  termites; Lepidoptera:  Abantiades marcidus, Coenotes eremophilae (Sphingidae), Endoxyla eucalypti, E. sp., Trictena argentata Herrich-Schaeffer, Zeuzera citurata.

            Meggett (1962) describes the physical environment occupied by the Walbiri in the central-western part of the Northern Territory, and mentions (p. 4) that, "In good seasons, when food is plentiful, the smaller and less palatable creatures may be ignored; but in times of scarcity even the humblest insects are eaten."  Insects eaten include (pp. 14-15):  witchetty-grub, (Walbiri name, mijamija) (Cerambycidae larvae?), prized food; witchetty-grub (nalgari) (Cossidae larvae?), prized food; white ant (jarinju) (Eutermes sp.?), occasionally eaten; flying ant (bandjidi) (Eutermes sp.?), occasionally eaten; honey ant (jirambi) (Melophorus inflatus?), prized food; honey ant (jagula) (Melophorus sp.?), prized food; manna (jiljalbu) (psyllid lerp), frequently eaten; wild bee (munagi) (Trigona sp.), honey prized food and wax used for adhesive; grasshoppers (djindilga), occasionally eaten; caterpillars and grubs (ladjul), some eaten; cicadas and crickets (lirinba), occasionally eaten; and weevils (lodu), occasionally eaten.  Meggett additionally lists 13 types of insects that are not eaten, including among others, Camponotus and  Myremcia ants, Gryllotalpa (mole crickets), March flies, mantids, hornets (known as murururururu), and phasmids.  Totems include insects (p. 59), and Meggett notes (p. 64) that a honey ant dreaming-site is located within 15-20 miles of the Yuendumu settlement.

            In an excellent summary of first-hand experiences, Tindale (1966) emphasized the importance of insect foods in the life of the Australian aborigines:

 

            The earliest pursuit of children, under the guidance of their mothers, is a hunt for various kinds of insect larvae, witchety grubs, and beetles. It is probable that the healthy growth of children in large measure is related to this source of food. Early nourishment of babies prior to weaning is assisted and the children are kept quiet by the cossid and hepialid grubs constantly dangling from their mouths. In our society a dummy [pacifier] replaces this early natural food for children.

 

            Tindale notes that in drought years, a reduced supply of grubs, lerp scales, honey ants, etc., along with the disappearance of greens may cause outbreaks of scurvy, playing havoc with the health of adults as well as children. A serious outbreak among the Kukatja (Loritja) people in 1930 was relieved dramatically when the University of Adelaide Anthropological Expedition provided orange juice for the crippled children and their parents, but Tindale notes: "On that occasion Kukatja women complained bitterly of the disappearance of the grubs from the roots of the Acacia kempeana shrubs because of the drought, and of the impossibility of digging for the Honey Ant, which had taken their diminished stores of honey far below the ground."  

            Even the hunters remain alert for insect foods. Tindale writes:

 

            I have seen a man, who supposedly was engrossed in the stalking of a kangaroo, glance aside at a likely gum tree and turn away from the hunt to test a hole with his spear-point. This led him to make a hooked stick with which he pulled out a grub [Xyleutes]. He ate it, and only then did his attention return to the more serious business of the hunt. 

 

            Hiatt (1967-68) listed a caterpillar, grubs and ant eggs (pupae?) (pp. 112, 119) among food resources used by Tasmanian Aborigines.

            Cleland (1966:  114) makes the following observation:

 

            The rapidity with which, under conditions of an ample food supply, the aborigines seemed to 'fill out' after a period of stringency -- a phenomenon noticed on several of the expeditions from the University of Adelaide -- would, if a fact, suggest that the Australian native can perhaps assimilate and store up food, when the opportunities offer, more quickly than white persons.  This may have an important bearing and enable aborigines in the interior to survive when they might otherwise perish.

 

            Cleland inventories the wild food resources of the "Fertile Coastal Regions and Murray System" versus the "Dry Interior."  Insects eaten in the former region included (p. 132):  "bardie or witchetty grubs such as Trictena argentata (Herrich-Schaetter) [sic] and Abantiades marcidus Tindale, from the roots of gum trees and from other sources.  Termites may have been eaten."

            Insects eaten in the Dry Interior include (pp. 143-144):

 

            Witchetty grubs obtained from the roots of the witchetty-bush, Acacia kempeana F.v.M. (larvae of buprestid beetles); of the Native Poplar Codonocarpus cotinifolius (Desf.) F.v.M. (larvae of a cossid moth); of the Roly-Poley Salso kali L. (larvae of a large cossid moth), and of the Red Gum Eucalyptus, E. camaldulensis Dehnh. and others (larvae of the Hepealid [sic] moth Trictena argenata (Herrich-Schaeffer).  Mulga apples (galls) on Acacia brachystachya Benth. caused by probably Trachilogastir sp. (Hymenoptera-Perilampidae).  Edible wax scale Austrotachardia acaciae (Frogg.) on Sandhill Mulga, Ooldea.  Bloodwoods Eucalyptus dichromophloia F.v.M. and allies, in Central Australia have a large Brachyselid gall the size of a small apple; its smooth-lined cavity contains a large female coccid, probably Apiomorpha pomiformis Froggalt [sic], which is eaten raw.  Termites in the flying stage.  Specialized members of the Honey Ant Melophorus inflatus Lubb. have honey stored in the crop to such an extent that the hinder portion of the insect becomes enormously distended; by deep digging with yam sticks the women unearth these much-relished sweets from the nests of the ants in mulga thickets.

 

            These mulga honeypot ants are quite numerous in suitable country such as near Haast's Bluff, but the source from which the honey is obtained is not at first sight readily detected.  On some of the trees, the scale of the Lerp Austrotachardia acaciae (Frogg.) Maskell, may furnish an obvious source for some of the mulga sugar but these infestations are not sufficient.  The principal supply seems to come from an exudate from the gland at the base of each phyllode of the Mulga.  Under certain conditions, in the early morning, glistening beads of honey dew can be seen at this situation.

 

            The native stingless bees of the genus Trigona furnish a welcome source of slightly acid honey.  When a bee's nest is suspected in a hollow tree, a stick is poked down the hole until the comb, if present, is reached, when some adheres to the stick.  Comb, honey, bees and larvae are all consumed together.  In searching for a bee's nest at Macdonald Downs in Central Australia, the natives, instead of looking up the trees for issuing bees, went down on their knees in a likely locality and searched for small dark particles carried away from their nests by the bees and dropped.  These having been found, it meant that somewhere close at hand, there was a nest.  Likely trees were tapped and any hollow ones climbed and the stick poked down until the one containing the honey was found.

 

            The Ngatatjara distinguish between mirka (vegetable and non-fleshy foods) and kuka (meat and fleshy foods), and kuka is always preferred over mirka (Gould 1969: 260).  Insects are included under mirka and are important at times, "particularly honey ants, white ants, and at least two varieties of grub (neither of which was plentiful during 1966-1967, but which we were told had been abundant in other seasons, perhaps even to the extent of constituting a staple food).

            Waterhouse (1971, p. 146) states:

 

            In the relatively harsh Australian environment where woody fruits prevail, the nomadic hunting habits of the aborigines and the fact that they had no thought or means of storing food exposed them to irregular and sometimes prolonged periods of food shortage.  Possibly because insects were at times almost the only available foodstuffs, but partly because some were regarded as special delicacies, the use of insects as food was widespread if not universal....A number are represented on totems, and sacred Increase Ceremonies were performed to promote their abundance.  Among the most prized were several species of honeypot ants, the honey stores and brood combs of stingless bees, a number of species of witchety grub, the bogong moth, the bardee (longicorn beetle larvae) and the sweet manna of various lerp insects.  Even the green tree ant...was eaten or used to make a refreshing drink.

 

            Waterhouse relates that the large larvae (up to 8 or more cm in length) and pupae of the witjuti or witchety are eaten raw or roasted, the flavor of the roasted grubs reportedly being delicate and nutty, similar to scrambled eggs, roast pork, or bone marrow.  He notes, regarding the aborigines and the bogong moth, Agrotis infusa (Boisduval) that, "It is a tribute to their perseverance in the pursuit of food that it took them several days of practice each year before they could hold down such a fat-rich meal."  The honeypots are specialized workers of several species of Melophorus.  These ants are steadily fed honey by food-gathering workers; the honey is stored in the crop, the abdomen eventually becoming distended to the size of a marble.

            Strehlow (1971) mentions, among the totemic songs and ceremonies of the Aranda, a termite totem (p. 217), the Trjimeta Song of Lukara (witchetty grub) (pp. 282, 295-296), and the Northern Aranda Honey-Ant Song of Ljaba (pp. 685-690), the latter 30 verses in length.

            Tindale (1972: 233, 238, 245, 248-249, 251-253) discusses insects as part of the food of the Pitjandjara, a simple hunting and food-gathering people who live in the northwestern corner of the state of South Australia.  Their territory extends also westward barely into West Australia and northward into the Northern Territory.  Wattle tree roots yield mako ilkoara, larvae of a species of Xyleutes moth (p. 233).  Another gathered food is the anumara hawk moth caterpillars which feed on  Boerhavia vines (p. 249).  After the first rains cause rapid growth of these (and other) plants, they are soon covered with the small black anumara larvae (p. 238):  "These grow in about a month to be two-inch long caterpillars.  Hundreds of these are gathered into wooden dishes, covered with bark or confined until they have passed all of the Boerhavia leafy matter through their bodies and ejected it as frass.  The women then separate the larvae from their dung by rocking them in their wooden dishes and cook the grubs by shaking them along with hot ashes, and so good food is available once more."  Collecting small animals and insects is womens' work (pp. 245, 248).

            Tindale states (p. 251):

 

            The plants of the family Zygophyllaceae, besides their uses as coverings in the steaming of greens, provide two genera, Nitraria and Zygophyllum, which have Cossid moth larvae boring in their stems.  These grubs provide important foods.  Thus, Zygophyllum aurantiacum, sometimes called native hop, is known to the Pitjandjara as pijarpiti.  It is a low shrub with slender, rigid stems and yellow flowers with four petals...The grubs boring in the stems are called mako biarpiti at Ooldea and are the larvae of a yellow and black spotted moth (Xyleutes biarpiti), the female of which has only partly developed wings and so cannot fly.  The larvae are abundant where they occur and children spend many happy hours hunting for them...

 

            Tindale continues (p. 252):

 

            Nitraria schoberi, the niter bush, which lives on saline soils, also provides Xyleutes larvae, which bore in the stems and are an important source of food.  The shrubs occur near some of the larger dry lake beds which margin the southern border of Pitjandjara territory.  On certain nights in summer thousands of the moths, white-winged with black spots, fly into fires, but as they generally come at a time when better food is available, they are not always eaten.  On the other hand, the grubs and pupae boring in the base of the stem of the shrub earlier in the season are eagerly sought-after items of food.

 

            Tindale states (p. 252):

 

            Lerp scales occur on several species of Acacia and Eucalyptus and provide a source of sugar as food upon which all may need to feed.  The wama wanari, or lac scale of the mulga (Acacia aneura), is found infesting large areas of mulga and then may be absent over equally wide areas.  Western Pitjandjara may live for days on this substance, breaking off the twigs covered with scale and drawing them through the lips sore and bleeding from the rough sticks drawn across them.  The lerp scale of the ngarukalja (Hakea francisiana) yields a similar wama, which is of sufficient importance that it is the subject of an increase ceremony (inma tjukur).

 

Tindale mentions the purara, or honey ant (Melophorus inflatus) as an example of an insect clan totem.

            According to Tindale (pp. 252-253):

 

            The term wamapiti is often used as a term for any form of lerp sugar as well as honey.  Honey ants occur only in mulga scrub.  After big rains they harvest the flow of honey from flowers and the sweet sap from glands on the growing tips of mulga twigs.  It is stored well below ground level in the inflated abdomens of certain worker ants.  These living stores of honey, each the size of a pea, tide the ants over lean years during which lack of rain prevents the flowering of the mulga. Thus honey ants are one of the buffer food supplies for natives in dry years.  Usually women dig for honey ants using a digging stick and wooden scoop.  Sometimes when other food is in short supply men join in the search.  Holes as deep as 3 or 4 feet may develop, often several yards in diameter, as they search for storage holes and their living sacs of sweetness.

 

            Finally, Tindale notes (p. 253):

 

            When all else fails the hairy colonial larvae of the bag shelter moth (Panacela), which occur in frass-filled silken webs on Eucalyptus, are gathered and eaten.  Their irritating hairs are singed off by heating them with hot ashes.  The hairs of the caterpillars cause intense irritation to the lips and throat and also cause a skin rash.  The Pitjandjara concept of abject misery is to be under the necessity of eating such larvae.

 

            Roheim (1974) discusses myths, songs and totems involving honey ants (pp. 48, 133-137) and witchetty grubs (pp. 132-133) and says of the latter (pp. 47-48):

 

            One small representative of the animal world belonged to the sphere of activity of women and children.  This was the witchetty grub, the larva of the big Cossus moth.  It was regarded as a great delicacy by the natives and eaten by most Europeans who had lived in the bush for some time.  The taste resembles that of scrambled eggs, but is considerably richer.  Children often spend the better part of the day digging for these grubs.  When Mrs. Roheim offered little Aldinga some strawberry jam, he exclaimed, `Maku' (witchetty), partly because the shape of the preserved strawberry reminded him of the grub, but mainly because of his delight.

 

            Roheim continues:

 

            The children ate the grubs raw, or slightly roasted.  Tjintjewara described the manner of obtaining and preparing maku.  When the children saw a particular kind of bush, they examined its base to see if there were any of the shells which the moth discards when it leaves the chrysalis.  If these shells were present, the children knew there were grubs in the bush.  They dug into the ground until they found the root of the bush, where they saw the excrements of the maku.  They then broke the thick root with their yam sticks and inside it found the much coveted delicacy.

 

            Relative to the nomenclature of indigenous peoples, Meyer-Rochow (1975a) suggests that "a species is likely to get an individual name to contrast it with the more general term or to distinguish it from the term of a related 'type-specimen', if it is harmful, edible, or in any other way outstanding."  The author records terms used for various terrestrial arthropods by three ethnic groups in Papua New Guinea and by the Pintupi and Walbiri tribes of central Australia.  Terms used by the Walbiri for edible species are as follows:  Coleoptera:  Euryscaphus sp. (scarab beetle) (ni(e)di); larval Cerambycidae (mijamija); larval Cuculionidae (lodu), occasionally eaten; Homoptera:  cicadas (lirinba), occasionally eaten; scale insect (Coccoidea)(manda), some forms eaten; manna (psyllid lerp)(jiljalbu); plant galls of a variety of families (pilburi), some occasionally eaten; Hymenoptera:  Camponotus inflatus (honeypot ant)(ing(u)rani); Melophorus spp. (honey ants)(jirambi, jagula); Trigona sp. (native honey bee)(djolala); Lepidoptera:  caterpillars (waiburi, wai(o)upi, ladjul), some eaten; witchetty grub (larval Cossidae)(ngalgari); Orthoptera:  grasshoppers and locusts (Acridoidea)(tindilga, djindilga), occasionally eaten; Teleogryllus commodus (cricket)(djabalari), rarely eaten.  Some of the above Walbiri terms were reported by Meggitt (1962).

            Pintupi terms for edible insects are given by Meyer-Rochow as follows:  Coleoptera:  nidi nidi or nirrinirri, general term for beetles, some adults and grubs of which are eaten; Hemiptera:  leaf bugs of various families (patana), some of which are eaten; Homoptera:  leaf hopper (Cicadelloidea)(jugri jugri), some eaten; Hymenoptera:  Camponotus inflatus (honeypot ant)(ngari); Isoptera: termites (longurlma, lungkunpa); Orthoptera; grasshoppers and locusts (djindilga, tjintilyka), occasionally eaten.  Some of the above Pintupi terms were reported by Hansen (1974).

            Meyer-Rochow (1975b) proposes that edible insects can help ease the food shortage in certain underdeveloped countries.  He suggests that many of the proposed strategies for increasing food production are impractical for developing countries:

 

            Severe problems are attached to strategies such as using more efficient insecticides, clearing virgin bush and intensifying irrigation to obtain more arable land.  There are also problems dealing with the introduction of hitherto little-used or unknown foods like fish meal pastries, algal bread, soy bean milk, and so forth.  The exploitation of so far untapped resources in the sea has a major drawback, in that the catching and processing of midwater fish and squid (both of which, admittedly, populate the oceans in billions of individuals) is a technically difficult and very expensive venture which, to date, is uneconomical even for the richest nations.  Similar limitations are found in suggestions which deal with the synthesis of artificial proteins from coal and oil.  While this is possible in principle, and is already done in a few industrialized countries, the process requires sophisticated technical know-how and financial backing which most underdeveloped nations cannot hope to achieve in the next two critical decades.

 

            Today artificial proteins are not much cheaper than the real thing, and if poor nations are meant to buy these products from rich producer countries, the consequent imbalance of payments would lead to an ever-increasing economical and financial dependence of the poor on the rich nations -- even though the consumer countries might provide the raw materials necessary to make the artificial foodstuffs.

 

            Meyer-Rochow mentions a number of well-known edible insects from around the world.  He emphasizes that it is not his intention to convert European people to insect foods, but he is convinced that "entomophagy, direct or indirect, could ease the hazards of malnutrition in countries where the consumption of insects by humans has only recently been given up."  He states:

 

            There is no need to be ashamed of eating insects.  Indeed I can see no sound reason why, in our society, oysters, crabs, or a Scottish haggis are called delicacies, while beetles, pickled caterpillars or dried grasshoppers are viewed with revulsion.  For too long, European habits have been regarded as a criterion for the degree of 'civilization' acquired by the indigenous people of many countries.  Instead of preserving their own identity, many so-called 'primitive people' have been led to believe that aping the European way of life was the fastest way to be accepted by European society.  While this might have been true in colonial times, it no longer holds today.

 

            Meyer-Rochow continues:

 

            Once entomophagy has been revived in some countries (which would perhaps be easier than the introduction of new and unknown food products, local enterprises could develop around an existing market for edible insects.  It should be emphasized that insects need not be consumed directly, but could be given to poultry or other domestic animals.  Certain fast growing insect species could be bred commercially, and particularly palatable forms could be hand-collected or baited in the field.  Very often adults of seasonally abundant crop pests are strongly attracted to light and can easily be caught with traps at night.  These and other measures would help in ridding plantations of pest insects while at the same time enabling valuable protein to be collected.  Such activities could even boost local food industries, as insects may be sold preserved (for example, cooked and canned, dried or pickled), fresh or in the form of 'insect meal.'

 

            Meyer-Rochow concludes:

 

            Environmental scientists, of course, would have to keep a watchful eye on any large scale exploitation of insects outside of cultivation in insect farms.  But what will happen once insects are bred commercially under scientific control and subjected to the attentions of food research specialists?  Probably quite a lot:  in the past 80 years the daily milk production of a single cow has risen tenfold, chickens now lay an egg almost daily instead of one per week, and pigs have been bred with additional ribs to provide more grilling chops.  For insects, however, there is as yet no such success story, because until recently food scientists with a European background have not even dreamed of insects as human food.  In their minds, insects existed only as food destroyers and pests.  Proper research in insect farming, backed financially by international organizations like FAO and the World Health Organization, might result in similar advances to those in European animal husbandry mentioned above.

 

            Meyer-Rochow (1976) reiterates many of the points made in his 1975b paper regarding the potential of entomophagy in helping to meet world food needs.  He notes that the Australian aborigines formerly ate a wide variety of insects and that central Australian tribes such as the Walbri and Pintupi still do.  "Here insects represent a genuine food category -- their consumption is by no means a mere emergency measure."  He notes that the average weight of the larval witchety grub is 1.2 g wet weight and 0.777 g dry weight and provides the following data on proximate analysis (percentage with dry weight listed first, then wet weight):  protein 38%, 16.5%; carbohydrate 5.7%, 2.5%; fat 39.8%, 17.2%; fiber 16.2%, 7.1%; water (wet wt. only) 56.7%.

            Macfarlane (1978) briefly describes the pattern of European intrusion into central Australia over the past century.  There is little in the early records to indicate that aborigines were subject to malnutrition in the early days of white settlement.  Aborigines ate essentially anything that was digestible by an omnivore.  Macfarlane mentions that social organization, the sharing with other members of the group anything that was caught, also tended to reduce malnutrition.  He cites earlier studies on types of foods used, noting that caterpillars, ants and beetle larvae were background staple and that sugar from honey ants and Hakea flowers were among the favorite foods.  Macfarlane makes brief reference to the use of insects by the Ngatjatjara at Kudjuntari, a group with minimal European contact, on the southern fringes of the Rawlinson Ranges during November and December, 1963.  It was during a period of long drought (several years).  European contact was limited to every three months when a truck from Woomera came through to keep contact and distribute some flour, tea, sugar and condensed sweetened milk for children (which was often consumed by adults).  As good supplies of kangaroos were being obtained, there was not much pressure to dig for frogs or hunt for grubs.  Macfarlane states:

 

            But cossid larvae from the mulga were gathered by the women.  The moth larvae of Xyleutes biarpiti (mako witjuti) from Acacia kempeana were collected more as snacks than as major dietary component.  Similarly the honey ant, Melophorus inflatus, was dug up twice in a week.  Young women dug briskly for these 1 cm diameter honey storage ants, which were enjoyed by those who did the work, but there were not enough ants caught to provide one for each member of the hoard [sic]....Several hands-full of caterpillars were caught, cooked and eaten, but only by one family.

 

From this and other study sites, Macfarlane concluded:  "The overall picture of these hunter/gatherer hordes, as they made contact with European foods and culture, was that of well fed infants and adults.  Traditional foods involved less hunting and gathering as acculturation increased..."

            Cutter (1978) provides a breakdown of the current Aboriginal population as follows:  1) Urban (relatively assimilated), 2500 approximate population; 2) Urban (living in fringe areas), 1000; 3) Settlements and missions, 5500; 4) Rural (cattle stations), 3000; 5) Rural (outstations), 2000.   Cutter states (p. 63):

 

            Most Aboriginal people are now quite non-nomadic, living in conditions similar to those of traditional times, e.g. humpies, wood fires, family groups.  They generally live on the outskirts of a white society and are very dependent upon it.  With the changes that have already occurred in Aboriginal society, most people are now dependent upon a cash economy for food clothing and transport.

 

            The reasons why people moved from a traditional, self-sufficient hunter/gatherer economy to a squatter society in the first place are not clear.  It certainly was not in search of better health, material possessions or social order.  The major reasons were probably related to accessibility of food and water and the pressures of authorities to live in settlements.  Since government and mission authorities have accepted the outstation movement and at least given it tacit support, people are moving back to traditional areas and thus reinforcing traditional culture.  The greater income now available and good seasons have also encouraged this.  However, despite this decentralisation trend, most people even in these areas accept and want to maintain a cash economy and 'white' services.

 

            Cutter mentions witchetty grubs as a minor food, saying:  "The men would be out hunting kangaroos and hopefully bush turkeys or emu, and the women would be digging for rabbits and witchetty grubs.  Other bush foods such as wild tomatoes, yams, goannas and honey ants would also be sought and eaten."  Cutter concludes:  "Aboriginal people have already demonstrated that they do not want to be assimilated into white culture but they do want to integrate some of the features of white culture into their own."

            Meyer-Rochow (1978/1979) reviews different uses to which insects are put by traditional societies and proposes a classification of the uses.  The coverage of edible species largely repeats information in the author's previous publications.

            Bardon (1979) gives a concise discussion of the "Dreamtime" (mentions ants and grasshoppers among others) (p. 9) and discusses and reproduces paintings produced by Aboriginal artists of the Papunya settlement in the Northern Territory.  Several tribal groups live there although Papunya is not the traditional region for any of them.  Bardon states (p. 7):  "These tribal artists have inherited an ancient knowledge which may not survive their own lifetimes.  They pass it on to young men who wish to learn from them, and happily there is a revival of interest, among the younger people, in this traditional life..."  Honey ants (p. 40) and witchetty grubs (p. 64) are among the subjects included in the paintings. T-shirts and postcards depicting honey ant dreaming (each animal and plant has a "dreaming" - the story of its creation and importance, where it is found and the correct time for the collection (Roff 1983)) are for sale in many tourist areas. 

            Gould (1980:  2; vide Oliver 1989:  160) reported that a Pitjantjara group in the Western Desert distinguished 47 varieties of small game and other fleshy food, including grubs.  The women provided the plant food, which made up about 80% (by weight) of the food supply throughout most of the year, and another 10% by collecting small animals and animal products.  The men provided the meat, which was valued highly but made up no more than 10% of the annual food supply.

            James (1983) provides a partial nutrient analysis on 63 species of indigenous foods, including four insects (see under Formicidae and Cossidae below).  The study was conducted primarily to determine the value of bush foods in the survival of Defence forces, as well as to obtain information of use to nutritionists concerned with Aboriginal health and feeding habits and to those investigating new commercial food sources.

            Hercus (1989), citing earlier studies, states that distinctions made between grubs in Aboriginal languages usually refer to the habitat (Johnson 1943):

 

            Thus in the Wangkangurru language of the Simpson Desert the green caterpillars that appear in large numbers after rain and feed on the fresh grass are called wadnhamarra (Lower Southern Aranda anhemare).  Root grubs (larvae of buprestid beetles and cossid moths) are called pardi, and this word is also used as a general term for all caterpillars.  The grubs from box-trees have the special name pitha-kapurru (larvae of hepialid moths, Cleland 1966:  144).  The very large green caterpillars that live in foliage are called yatinjan