![]() Coprolites in caves in the Ozark Mountains were found to contain insect (ants, beetle larvae, lice), as well as arachnids ( ticks, mites). Evidence has been found analyzing coprolites from caves in the US and Mexico. īefore humans had tools to hunt or farm, insects may have represented an important part of their diet. Insects eaten around the world include crickets, cicadas, grasshoppers, ants, various beetle grubs (such as mealworms, the larvae of the darkling beetle), and various species of caterpillar (such as bamboo worms, mopani worms, silkworms and waxworms).Įating insects in human cultures History Ĭarving of Cave grasshopper on animal bone discovered in the Magdalenian grotto of Les Trois Frères indicates a possible link with food magic. Today, insect eating is uncommon in North America and Europe, but insects remain a popular food elsewhere, and some companies are trying to introduce insects as food into Western diets. In some societies, primarily western nations, entomophagy is uncommon or taboo. FAO suggests eating insects as a possible solution to environmental degradation caused by livestock production. FAO has registered some 1,900 edible insect species and estimates that there were, in 2005, some two billion insect consumers worldwide. Eighty percent of the world's nations eat insects of 1,000 to 2,000 species. Human insect-eating (anthropo-entomophagy) is common to cultures in most parts of the world, including Central and South America, Africa, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. Around 3,000 ethnic groups practice entomophagy. The eggs, larvae, pupae, and adults of certain insects have been eaten by humans from prehistoric times to the present day. The scientific term describing the practice of eating insects by humans is anthropo-entomophagy. ![]() Mealworms presented in a bowl for human consumption ![]()
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