Insects that have afforded Food to Man. 145 



wlio, in Ills travels, states, that at St. Paul's, in the Brazils, there 

 is a species of large ant, which when fried, forms a food by no 

 means contemptible in the eyes of the inhabitants. Richard 

 Lander, in speaking of the food of the Yaribeans, mentions that 

 they eat black ants* just as they are able to fly. *' They are 

 stewed," he says, " and eaten with yams and tiiah, and are con- 

 sumed by all ranks with the most astonishing avidity." — Vid. 

 Lander's Records of Clapperton's Last Voyage, page 205. 



By Callaway it is stated, " Swarms of ants are abundant in 

 Ceylon. The Sepoys attract them by burning a torch, which, 

 scorching their wings, they drop to the ground. After picking 

 them up and frying them with rice, the mess is divided and sent 

 round to their friends as a delicacy."! 



Neuroptera. 



The present order affords us little additional matter, and is 

 confined entirely to the genus Termcs, commonly known under 

 tlie name of the white ants. They yield, however, an ample 

 supply of food to various nations. 



1. Termes J'atale. 



Lichtcnstein informs us, that the Termes falalc is a very fa- 

 vourite food of the Bosjesmans or Wood Hottentots ; and he 

 particularly mentions their eggs, which are in very great repute. 



3. Tlie Indian White Ant. 



In the East Indies, according to Smeathman, the natives eat the 

 white ants, raw as well as boiled. Tliey take them in great quan- 

 tities, mixing them with flour into a sort of paste, which they sell 

 to the poor at a reasonable rate. The Mahrattahs are reported 

 to be extremely partial to them. Forbes, in his Oriental Me- 

 moirs, supports the authority of Smeatliman. " He states that 

 the white ant is about the size of a small grain of rice, has a 

 while body, appearing like a maggot, and a very strong red head 

 armed with a powerful forceps. It has four short legs. They 

 arc an article of food among some of the low caste in Mysore, 

 and the Carnatic. — Vid. vol. i. page 232. Buchanan informs us 



* Lieutenant H. Sayers (lately returned from Africa) informs me, that 

 amongst many other delicate viands particularly prized by the natives in the 

 vicinity of Sierra Leone, black ants are sought for and eaten with avidity. 



X Vid. Callaway's Oriental Collections, 1834, p. 6L 



