INSECTS EMPLOYED IN MEDICINE, OE AS FOOD. 101 



as those of bees ; but we must refer our readers to 

 special works on entomology for a description of 

 these. The Hottentots eat them boiled or raw ; 

 they serve as food in the East Indies. The Africans 

 ruast them in iron pots and eat them by handfuls, 

 as we do sugar-plums. They resemble in taste 

 (according to Smeathman) sugared cream, or sweet 

 almond paste. They constitute an extremely nutri- 

 tious article of diet. 



Many parts of the world, and great portions of 

 Europe are often ravaged by certain species of 

 locusts, chiefly by the species Acrydium migratorium 

 (Fig. 9), which I have found as far north as Ostend 



FIG. 9. Acrydium migratorium (Locust). 



(in 1857, in which year a dead locust was also picked 

 up in the Strand in London). The devastations 

 caused by these well known insects have sometimes 

 penetrated to the heart of France. They certainly 

 destroy large quantities of food, but in return they 

 furnish to the inhabitants of the countries to which 



