Insect-Based Foods

Insects are eaten across most of the world and always have been — some 2,000 species, from Mexican escamoles to Thai crickets to southern African mopane worms. They are gathered rather than farmed, seasonal, and dense in protein. The unusual position is the European one, where the practice fell away and hardened into a taboo.

Explore Insect-Based Foods

Amazonian palm-weevil larvaeAnt larvae and pupaeBee or wasp larvaeBeondegiFried bamboo wormsFried cricketsFried long-horned grasshoppersFried winged termitesJumil stink bugsLake-fly cakesMaguey wormsMopane wormsPalm-weevil larvaePeruvian palm-weevil larvaeRed ant eggsRoasted big-bottomed antsRoasted leafcutter ant queensSabah sago grubsSago-worm sataySilkworm pupaeSoy-simmered rice grasshoppersToasted grasshoppers