​Edible Insects for Survival Situations


Edible Insect


While most people cringe at the thought of being forced to eat an insect, the fact is that in a wilderness survival situation, the human body absolutely requires sufficient protein to remain healthy. Thus, while edible insects may not be as appealing as a sirloin steak, they will enable you to remain healthy in a survival situation for the duration of your sojourn in the wilderness.

In fact, the eggs, larvae, pupae, and adults of certain insect species have been eaten by Humans since prehistoric times and they continue to be a staple item of the Human diet in modern times in many countries around the world. In fact, there are over 1,000 insect species that are known to be eaten in 80% of the world's nations! But, how do you determine whether or not an insect is edible? Well, one rule of thumb is that Nature uses bright colors to warn animals (Humans included) that a particular insect is not safe to eat. In addition, insects with a pungent odor such as Stink Bugs should also be avoided since this is another way that Nature warns us that a particular insect is not safe to eat. Furthermore, some wilderness experts caution that you should avoid consuming hairy insects as well as insects that have a poisonous bite or sting. However, there are exceptions to this rule such as arachnids (spiders), bees, wasps, and scorpions.

In fact, there are 15 orders of edible insects:

  • Anoplura - lice
  • Orthoptera - grasshoppers, crickets and cockroaches
  • Hemiptera - true bugs
  • Homoptera - cicadas and treehoppers
  • Hymenoptera - bees, ants and wasps
  • Diptera - flies and mosquitoes
  • Coleoptera - beetles
  • Lepidoptera - butterflies and moths
  • Megaloptera - alderflies and dobsonflies
  • Odonata - dragonflies and damselflies
  • Ephemetoptera - mayflies
  • Trichoptera - caddisflies
  • Plecoptera - stoneflies
  • Neuroptera - lacewings and antlions
  • Isoptera - termites

Thus, the trick to making most any insect edible is to thoroughly cook it since, even if a bug does have harmful toxins or venom, either boiling or roasting it will usually negate the effects of the toxin. Also, you should note that insects with hard shells like beetles often carry parasites but, if they thoroughly cooked, they can be made safe to eat. Therefore, the ability to build a fire in a survival situation is paramount so that you can either boil, roast, or smoke the insects you intend to eat. Furthermore, in addition to making them safe to eat, cooking insects also tends to improve their taste. Plus, another way to make insects more palatable is to remove the head, wings, and legs since these parts contain very little nutritional value and removing them can make them look less like insects. Another little known fact about insects is that many species of Ants contain Formic Acid and thus, if you gather a bunch of them, crush them, and then soak them in clean water, they create a tisane that tastes a lot like lemonade!

So if you inadvertently find yourself in a in a survival situation, your best bet is to play it safe by following the rules mentioned above since there are plenty of worms, grubs, termites, crickets and beetles in any wilderness area that will provide your body with the protein it needs to provide you with energy, build muscle tissue, and repair both internal and external damage. Therefore, as long as you stick to the species mentioned above, you will be able to safely obtain the protein your body needs to enable you to survive in the wilderness provided that you can overcome any innate aversion you may have to consuming them.

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