Insects

🇲🇽Mexico

Ahuatle

An Aztec-era delicacy of tiny aquatic fly eggs, gathered from lake reeds, toasted and eaten like caviar.

🇵🇪Loreto, Peru

Anticuchos de Suri

Loreto palm grubs grilled on skewers, a rare Amazonian seasonal food.

🇰🇷South Korea

Beondegi

번데기

Beondegi, steamed silkworm pupae sold in paper cups from street carts, is a named Korean street food and a genuine test-of-nerve collectible.

🇦🇴Angola

Catatos

Palm caterpillars fried hard with garlic and served with rice or funge.

🇲🇽Oaxaca, Mexico

Chapulines

Toasted grasshoppers, seasoned with lime, garlic, and chile — a crunchy Oaxaca snack.

🇲🇽Oaxaca, Mexico

Chicatana

An Oaxacan flying ant, toasted and eaten as a snack or ground into sauces.

🇲🇽Mexico

Chinicuiles

Red agave worm larvae, toasted or fried, eaten as a crunchy delicacy.

🇧🇫Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso

Chitoumou

Shea tree caterpillars, a seasonal delicacy (July-September); fried, cooked in sauce, dried, or powdered; high in protein; a Bobo ethnic specialty around Bobo-Dioulasso.

🇪🇨Ecuador

Chontacuro

Edible palm worm from the Ecuadorian Amazon, grilled on skewers or eaten raw. A high-protein Amazonian delicacy with a creamy, nutty flavor.

🇨🇬Republic of the Congo

Congolese Termites

Termites

Flying termites collected during the rainy season, roasted or fried until crisp; eaten as a snack or alongside boiled manioc and beans.

🇲🇽Mexico

Cuchamas

Edible xamues, also called cuchamas, the plump stink bugs collected seasonally and toasted or cooked in Mexican chile dishes.

🇲🇽Mexico

Escamoles

The 'Mexican caviar': ant larvae, sautéed with butter, garlic, and epazote until creamy.

🇨🇳Yunnan, China

Fried bee pupa with rice wine

油炸蜂蛹

Fried bee pupae, eaten with rice wine in Yunnan, is a named regional insect dish.

🇬🇦Haut-Ogooué (Southeastern / Franceville), Gabon

Gabonese Caterpillars

Chenilles

Edible caterpillars (Parotis baldersalis) collected from Tabernaemontana crassa trees on the Plateaux Bateke; an important source of protein; pan-fried or stewed with vegetables.

🇨🇴Santander, Colombia

Hormigas Culonas

A Santander specialty of large, roasted leaf-cutter ants (hormigas culonas), eaten as a salty snack. A pre-Hispanic indigenous delicacy, crunchy and nutty.

🇳🇿New Zealand

Huhu Grubs

Fat white larvae of the huhu beetle, dug from rotting logs; a Māori bush-food delicacy traditionally eaten raw, tasting to most palates like peanut butter crossed with chicken skin.

🇿🇲Zambia

Ifinkubala

Ifishimu

Mopane worms or caterpillars of the emperor moth; called ifinkubala in Bemba and vinkubala in Chinyanja; probably originated among the Bemba tribe in northern Zambia; fried until crispy or boiled then fried; served with tomatoes and onion alongside nshima; a protein-rich snack or relish; also dried and powdered into seasoning; a Zambian delicacy.

🇯🇵Chubu, Japan

Inago no tsukudani

いなごの佃煮

Inago no tsukudani, rice grasshoppers simmered in soy and sugar, is a named Nagano preserve and a genuine collectible.

🇧🇷Brazil

Içá Frita

Fried içá ants from the Paraíba Valley, eaten as a rare seasonal delicacy with a crisp, nutty bite.

🇯🇵Chubu, Japan

Jibachi senbei

地蜂せんべい

Jibachi senbei, wasp larvae baked into rice crackers by a single Nagano preservation society, is singular and place-bound.

🇲🇽Mexico

Jumiles

Jumiles from the Taxco area of Guerrero, eaten toasted or fresh in tacos and ground into pungent green salsa during their cool-season harvest.

🇹🇭Thailand

Malaeng Thot

แมลงทอด

Malaeng thot, the fried-insect cart with crickets, silkworm pupae, bamboo worms and grasshoppers, is a named Thai street institution.

🇹🇭Isan (Northeastern Thailand), Thailand

Mod daeng

มดแดง

Mod daeng (red ant eggs), gathered from nests in a short spring window and eaten in salads and omelettes, is a named seasonal Isan delicacy.

🇵🇭Pampanga, Philippines

Mole Crickets

Kamaru

A Kapampangan dish of mole crickets (rice field crickets) sauteed in garlic, onions, and tomatoes.

🇳🇦Namibia

Mopane

Mopane worms in their dried form — the caterpillars of Gonimbrasia belina, harvested from mopane trees and dried for storage; a key protein source in northern Namibia, rehydrated and fried when needed.

🇧🇼Botswana

Mopane Worms

Phane

Mopane worms — caterpillars of Gonimbrasia belina, cooked in hot ashes, boiled, or dried and fried with chili and garlic; a highly nutritious protein source and delicacy of Botswana, harvested from mopane trees.

🇳🇦Namibia

Mopane Worms

Omagungu

Fried mopane worms — caterpillars of Gonimbrasia belina collected from mopane trees, fried with chilies, tomatoes, and onions until crispy; a traditional Namibian delicacy and protein source.

🇦🇴Angola

Palm Grasshoppers

Gafanhotos de palmeira

Grasshoppers gathered from palm trees, toasted with salt and eaten by the handful or served with game meat.

🇲🇾Sabah, Malaysia

Sago Grub

Sago Grub, called Butod, is the large sago-palm larva eaten fresh or cooked in parts of Sabah.

🇵🇪Peru

Sikisapa

Flying ants collected during the Alto Mayo season and toasted as a crunchy Amazonian snack.

🇳🇨New Caledonia

Ver de Bancoule

Ver de bancoule is a large bancoule beetle larva eaten as an insect in New Caledonia; it is cleaned and cooked until the outside firms and the centre stays rich.

🇦🇺Australia

Witchetty Grub

Witjuti Grub

A witchetty grub is a large edible wood-boring larva eaten raw or lightly roasted in Aboriginal Australian foodways.