BENEFICIAL INSECTS 207 



properly cooked are very palatable and highly nutritious, 

 judging from the condition of the birds that feed on 

 them. The mode of cooking adopted by the blacks is 

 primitive, but effective. Our two niggers provided them- 

 selves with bags, which were filled with bugongs by simply 

 opening the bag and sweeping thousands of moths into it 

 with their hands. These bags, well filled, were brought 

 down to our camp at the foot of the mountain, a fire was 

 made, and kept up with sticks which burn to a clear white 

 ash, and, when a good heap of white ashes was prepared, 

 a hole was raked in the heap with a stick, and the moths 

 tumbled in out of the bag, and the ashes heaped round 

 them and stirred about with the sticks for several minutes, 

 and when the experienced cook reckoned the cooking was 

 complete, the mixture of the ashes and moths was well 

 scattered about to cool and stop further cooking. When 

 cool enough to handle, the moths' bodies wings and legs 

 pretty well singed off were gathered up, ashes and all, and 

 cleaned by simply pouring from one hand to another, and 

 blowing on the falling mixture, by which means the moth's 

 bodies were almost cleaned of ashes ; and a little further 

 delicate manipulation by gently rubbing the moths on the 

 leg of the trousers completed the cleaning process, when 

 the delicious moths were eagerly eaten." 



According to Kunze", " the bodies of these moths abound 

 in oil and taste like nuts. When first eaten they produce 

 violent vomiting, but this effect soon passes off, and the 

 natives thrive and fatten on this diet. The flight of these 

 insects is followed up, and at night fires are built under 

 trees on which they have settled. The smoke soon brings 

 the moths down, and their bodies are collected and pounded 

 together into a sort of fleshy loaf. The larvae of a few 

 other lepidopterous insects are used for food by the natives," 

 those of Euplcea hamata being the most favoured. 



In China, the pupae of the silkworm moth, Bombyx mori, 

 after removal of the silk from the cocoon, are considered 



