14 



Marvels of Insect Life. 



the locusts in question were the seed-pods of a small tree,^ there can be no doubt 

 that they were the Insects still eaten by the Arabs and other races of countries 

 where the swarms of mii^jratory locusts \isit. Hasselquist found at Mecca, when 

 corn was scarce, the Arabs ground locusts in their handmills or pounded them 

 in stone mortars to make a substitute for flour. Moistened with water 



and \\orked into a sort of 

 dough, this was made into 

 cakes and baked. He adds 

 that thev also eat locusts without 

 waiting for the excuse of a 

 famine, boiling them in water, 

 and then stewing with butter 

 "into a kind of fricassee of no 

 bad fla\'our." Sparrman, too, 

 tells us of the Hottentots that 

 thev rejoice when swarms of 

 locusts visit their country, though 

 it means the destruction of all 

 verdure. The\' feast upon the 

 locusts, and make a coffee- 

 coloured soup of their eggs, 

 getting "visibly fatter" 

 on such nourishing diet. Forskal, 

 a Swede, says there is no 

 great relish in this diet, and 

 that if indulged in too freely 

 it thickens the blood, and 

 becomes injurious to those of 

 a melancholic temperament. 

 For all that, in Calcutta the 

 natives still regard a swarm of 

 locusts as a providential event, 

 and their dried bodies form an 

 ingredient in the preparation 

 of curries. 



In parts of South Africa it 

 is not onlv the migratory locust 

 that is eaten, but other large 

 grasshoppers, including one that we figure - that is coloured black and red. 

 This is a livery that is regarded as being outward evidence of unwholesome- 

 ness ; but we are told that in spite of it the thick leaping legs are eaten 

 as a relish with "mealies." The entire Insect is fried, and the legs are detached 

 for food as they have a salt flavour. Our informant says the custom of eating 

 Insects is dying out and is now onl\' i)ractised b\- the })oorest of the natives, the 



Photo by\ 



Short-winged Locust. 



[li. step, I'.L.S. 



This locust is said to be eaten by certain native tribes in Soutli .-Mrira, who 

 value it mainly on account of the relish afforded by the salt flavour of tlie 

 leaping thighs. This is remarkable, seeing that the Insect is coloured with 

 strongly contrasted red and black, which are considered to be an indication of 

 unpalatability, and therefore known as " warning colours." 



' Ceratoni.-i silicjua. 



- I'luniateiis a?si"oHis. 



