From a survival point of view, is there any reason to eat bugs?
Let's take a BRIEF look...
BEEF provides 200 - 300 calories per 100 Grams depending on the fat level.
Each gram is about 18% fat, about 18% protein and about 58% water
LIVE TERMITES provide about 350 calories per 100 Grams. With 23% protein,
28% fat and 44% water per gram they constitute good eats.
MOTH LARVAE provide about 265 calories per 100 Grams. They are about 63 %
protein and 15 % fat with only about 4% water per gram. These are good if you
want to get into body building on a budget.
There is another issue. A cow weighs 1000 to 2000 POUNDS. A moth weighs a
few mg's. It takes a lot of moth killing to make a meal.
Of course there is always the happy Maggot... that's a different story... Easy to
capture, often found in clusters, high in calories and protein. Properly prepared
they taste and look like wild rice.
From the standpoint of a survival food, bugs make a lot of sense as a food of
opportunity. Unfortunately lots'O folks won't take that opportunity and feed on
the crawly critters. It's a bit of the "Gag Factor" that stops them
To use bugs as a food source you first need to get over your "Inculcated
societal food values" (Food preferences) and start munching. But don't start by
trying to choke down those juicy cockroaches (215 calories, 100grams). Start by
buying some mealworms from a pet food store. Fry them and eat 'em... I think
you'll find that they are quite tasty.
If you don't blow chunks this first time, try something a little more exciting.
Place a LIVE mealworm in your mouth and BITE DOWN. Yummy. Eat more live
ones. Soon you'll find yourself grazing on live mealworms, they're that good!
You may find that they are SO good you'll be offering them to friends as a
snack at parties.
The Montegnards of the Central Highlands in Vietnam would catch crickets, put
them in a container which had a 2 inch strip of oil painted on the inside. The oil
kept the little buggers :>) inside the jar. The little guys would hang out inside
the jar for about 24 hours. This gave them a chance to empty their intestinal
tracts (the cause of some bitterness in the flavor). After they were "clean" they
were dumped into a cloth bag which was then hung by a fire to dry (cook
slowly) or left in the pot and heated in situ on a slow fire. When dried they
were munched as a tasty snack or used in rice meals. Grass hoppers are
prepared in the same way but it is best to pull the legs off before the feast.
Ants are, for the most, part one of the best bug feasts. The formic acid pretty
much disappears when they are boiled. Black ants eaten raw have a semi
sweet flavor. Sorta like crunchy raw sugar with legs.
Beetles amount to about 40% of the known insects. The larvae of many beetles
are very high in fat and protein and make great snacks.
When in doubt about a bug do the insect safety test. And follow these time
tested rules.
Always try to cook insects.
Never eat bugs you find dead.
Don't eat bugs that bite back!
If it smells really bad, don't eat it!
Road kills are often infested with them. Gather a handful or two, drop your
prize into an old sock, and rinse in cold clear water a couple of times. Then
boil. After about five minutes, toss in a bullion cube. When the cube has
finished dissolving, settle back to a fine hot stew of what looks like brown rice.
It is really a fine meal.
Enjoy
Wizard
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