DIRECT BENEFITS DERIVED FROM INSECTS. SOI 



would have been the case is clear, at least as far as re- 

 gards the former position, from the practice in other 

 parts of the world, both in ancient and modern times, to 

 which, begging you to lay aside your English prejudices, 

 I shall now call your attention ; first observing by the 

 way, that the insects used as food, generally speaking, 

 live on vegetable substances, and are consequently much 

 more select and cleanly in their diet than the swine or 

 the duck, which form a favourite part of ours. 



Many larvae a that belong to the order Coleoptera are 

 eaten in different parts of the world. The grub of the 

 palm- weevil (Cordylia b Palmarum\ which is the size of 

 the thumb, has been long in request in both the Indies. 

 JElian speaks of an Indian king, who, for a dessert, in- 

 stead of fruit set before his Grecian guests a roasted 

 worm taken from a plant, probably the larva of this in- 

 sect, which he says the Indians esteem very delicious 

 a character that was confirmed by some of the Greeks 

 who tasted it c . Madam Merian has figured one of these 

 larvae, and says that the natives of Surinam roast and 



8 Baron Humboldt asks (Person. Narr. VI. i. 8. note) "What 

 are those worms (Loul in Arabic) which Captain Lyon, the fellow tra- 

 veller of my brave and unfortunate friend Mr. Ritchie, found in the 

 pools of the desert of Fezzan, which served the Arabs for food, and 

 which have the taste of Caviare? Are they not insects' eggs resem- 

 bling the Aguautle, which I saw sold in the markets of Mexico, and 

 which are collected on the surface of the lakes of Texcuco ?" For 

 this latter fact he refers to the Gazeta de Litteratura de Mexico. 

 1794. iii. No. 26. p. 201. It appears from this note of the illustrious 

 traveller that insects are used as food in their egg as well as their 

 other states. 



b Herbst and Schonherr call this distinct genus Rhyncophorus ; but 

 as this is too near the name of the tribe (Rhyncophora), we have 

 adopted Thunberg's name, altering the termination to distinguish 

 it from Cordyle a genus of Lizards. 



a ./Elian. Hist. 1. xiv. c. 13. quoted in Reaum. ii. 343. 



