Insects As Human Food : A Chapter of the Ecology of Man

Fib' 2. Total view of the Palaeolithic cave drawing at Arana of honey-hunting. Above: The honey-hunter and the bees enlarged. From F. HERNANDEZ-PACHECO (19 21 ).Living termites Fried termites Moisture 44•5% 13.0 % Fat 28•3% 36.2 % Proteins 23. 2% 45.6% Ashes Calories of 100 gr. 347 508 Meat (beef) 75.2% 6.6% 16.9% 1.3% 127 Dried salt-fish 32.4 % 3.1% 43.7% 20.8% 203 Groundnutoil (Senegal) 7.0% 49.4% 27.6% 2•7% 598No vitamin A was found. The samples were too small to permit an analysis of the ashes. The calorific value of the termites as compared with that of the other foods is surprisingly high. In addition the termites offer for certain peoples a most important source of protein, of fat, and of calories. The writers conclude that their nutritional value can explain an apparently paradoxical observation, namely, the healthy condition of some natives compared to their poor diet, if unknowingly certain dishes, such as the termites, are omitted from the analysis.ANTONIE has analysed smoked caterpillars from the Upper Sangha, which contain 15.7 % moisture, 40. % ashes, 13.7 % fat, total N 6. I %, carbohydrates 13.9 %, phosphates 0.7%, chlorides 0.4 %, chitinous remainders 13.5%. A second sample yielded a slightly lower nutritive value. ANTONINI calculates the calorific value as 268 cal., of which 258 cal. are digestible.An analysis of silkworm pupae by CH. AUFFRET yielded: 60.7% moisture, 23. I % protein, 14.2 % fat, minerals 1.5 %, calorific value 207 cal. Vitamin A was fairly ample. Both these analyses have been made available through the habitual kindness of Prof. TH. MONOD, Paris.Y. YONEZAWA and K. YAMAFUJI (1935) give the following analysis of the eight days old pupa of the silkworm (Bombyx mori L.) (female), in gr. per 1000 individuals:Water: 1191 gr; dry matter: 362 gr. Protein 207.5; fats gO.5; carbohydrates 23.2; ashes IS.S; total phosphoric acid 7.S; organic phosphoric acid 4.3; total nitrogen 45.0; non-proteinous nitrogen 12.2 gr.The amino acids of the pupa (E. KATAYAMA 1917) are alanin, valin, leucin, prolin, phenylalanin, glutamin acid, histidin and tyrosin in 0.05 to 0.67 % of the live weight.The properties of the fats of the pupae are (YONEZAWA and YAMAFUJI 1935): acid indicator 14, ester indicator IS2, Hehner indicator 95, saponification indicator 196, iodine indicator 137. The glyzerides of the oil of the pupae (Y AMAFUJI 1933) are in % of the oil: dioleo-linolenin 0. 6, insolin-oleo-dilinolenin 4.3, triolein 44.7, palmito-diolein 8.5, palmito-oleo-linolenin 16.7, tri-linolenin 8.3. No data are available for the minerals of the pupae but those of the larvae are in % of the total ashes ( Front Matter....Pages 1-6 Insects as Human Food....Pages 7-38 History of Entomophagy....Pages 39-69 Australia....Pages 70-136 Africa....Pages 137-207 Asia....Pages 208-280 The Americas....Pages 281-330 Bibliography....Pages 331-350