# Survival > Foraging & Wild Edibles >  Ate my first cricket!

## RoadLessTraveled

Okay, folks.  It's one of those things that, you know, you just always kinda wonder about but never muster the courage to actually try...  

Well, last weekend, I had the perfect opportunity.  I attended the Insecta Fiesta hosted by UT here in Austin.   It was heavily seasoned, so I didn't get to experience any natural flavor (for better or worse).  

One small step for wild edible enthusiasts, one giant leap for this nube.

Here are a few pictures of my adventure:

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## Darkevs

yummy!   :Smile: 

I have accidently eaten a few unidentified bugs over the years  :Smile:  ........still have not eaten one on purpose, but I suppose If I was lost and hungry I would!   Thinking crunchy bugs might be easier to eat than big squishy, gooey grubs.

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## grrlscout

Nice! I have been meaning to stop at a local Mexican grocery that specialized in Oaxacan goods, to buy some crickets, but I keep forgetting.

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## natertot

Congrats! My first one was cheddar flavor. Next was Bar-B-Que. Now it is time for the live ones! :Dead:

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## Durtyoleman

My folks taught me to try new things and the army taught me almost anything is edible, BUT bugs and worms top my list of things that get eaten after the family pets but before people.
D.O.M.

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## crashdive123

I've ridden cross country on a motorcycle five times.  Eating bugs ain't no big deal.........maybe that's why I never felt like stopping for lunch.

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## RoadLessTraveled

Funny! Pickin' and a grinnin'!




> I've ridden cross country on a motorcycle five times.  Eating bugs ain't no big deal.........maybe that's why I never felt like stopping for lunch.

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## Rick

I find it interesting that the majority of the world's citizens eat bug on a daily basis and we shoo flies off our picnic. Nice job on the cricket.

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## RandyRhoads

> Congrats! My first one was cheddar flavor. Next was Bar-B-Que. Now it is time for the live ones!



I wouldn't eat any live grasshoppers/crickets. They're supposedly all riddled with parasites.

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## RoadLessTraveled

Thanks Rick,

I share your view point.  Probably most of those who eat them are doing it by necessity and not preference.  But the fact that people eat them proves that there's nothing inherently wrong or unhealthy about eating insects.  On the contrary, since they are so readily available and such a good source of nutrition, it actually seems like a waste to not eat them!  Instead of feeling squeamish, we should be as thankful for them as we are when our fields are full of grain?

I'm just talking the talk right now.  There's not a single cricket in my freezer.  But the more I think about it, the less of a good reason I can find for excluding insects from my diet...

It seems to me that the strong repulsion that most of us have towards insects is something we've learned, not something instinctive.  

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/ar...810336,00.html




> I find it interesting that the majority of the world's citizens eat bug on a daily basis and we shoo flies off our picnic. Nice job on the cricket.

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## RoadLessTraveled

Is anyone aware of any harmful parasites in specific?

Sincerely, I am interested in learning what are the risks associated with eating insects for my own benefit.  And I'm also interested in dispelling any misconceptions.

The most common parasite in crickets that I've learned about so far is the Horsehair Worm.  But it is completely harmless for humans:

http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/2112.html



> Fears are not warranted since horsehair worms can only parasitize suitable insect hosts.


http://www.extension.umn.edu/yardand...horsehair.html



> Horsehair worms are harmless to people, pets, and plants.


http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/ef613.asp



> These interesting creatures are not parasites of humans, livestock, or pets and pose no public health threat.







> I wouldn't eat any live grasshoppers/crickets. They're supposedly all riddled with parasites.

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## RandyRhoads

Tapeworm. There is also a danger if you eat the legs without cooking and grinding into powder. They have barbs that can get stuck in your throat.

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## Rick

Randy, Randy, Randy. Where did you come up with that? First, you'll have to give me a source on tapeworms in insects. Never heard of it. There are only four that infect humans. faeces, beef, fish and dwarf. None of them get stuck in the throat. They live either in the upper or lower GI tract. 

As to your question RLT, there are a lot of parasites that feed on crickets and grasshoppers. I'm not sure how many of those are a pest to man. Nematodes, mites, ricketsia (does infect humans), Protista (there are oodles of Protista but the most commonly known is protozoa). I would hazard a guess that at least some of the Protista would impact humans. There is even a parasitic wasp that lays its eggs inside crickets so you could get a little extra protein from the larvae. The good news is cooking kills the parasites. Don't forget to remove the legs and wings!

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## natertot

> Randy, Randy, Randy. Where did you come up with that? First, you'll have to give me a source on tapeworms in insects. Never heard of it. There are only four that infect humans. faeces, beef, fish and dwarf. None of them get stuck in the throat. They live either in the upper or lower GI tract. 
> 
> As to your question RLT, there are a lot of parasites that feed on crickets and grasshoppers. I'm not sure how many of those are a pest to man. Nematodes, mites, ricketsia (does infect humans), Protista (there are oodles of Protista but the most commonly known is protozoa). I would hazard a guess that at least some of the Protista would impact humans. There is even a parasitic wasp that lays its eggs inside crickets so you could get a little extra protein from the larvae. The good news is cooking kills the parasites. Don't forget to remove the legs and wings!


So eat away! just hold a match to em for a bit first and remove extremeties. What about crickets? Can we eat those too? I have a ton of those in my yard. Way more than grasshoppers.

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## Rick

I'm....going....to.....take.....this.....slow....f  or.....you....

As to your question RLT, there are a lot of parasites that feed on * crickets* and grasshoppers. I'm not sure how many of those are a pest to  man. Nematodes, mites, ricketsia (does infect humans), Protista (there  are oodles of Protista but the most commonly known is protozoa). I would  hazard a guess that at least some of the Protista would impact humans.  There is even a parasitic wasp that lays its eggs inside *crickets* so you  could get a little extra protein from the larvae. The good news is  cooking kills the parasites. Don't forget to remove the legs and wings!

I'm post cartoons next time.

Is there something in the water in SW Ohio or do you guys just congregate there?

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## natertot

> I'm....going....to.....take.....this.....slow....f  or.....you....
> 
> As to your question RLT, there are a lot of parasites that feed on * crickets* and grasshoppers. I'm not sure how many of those are a pest to  man. Nematodes, mites, ricketsia (does infect humans), Protista (there  are oodles of Protista but the most commonly known is protozoa). I would  hazard a guess that at least some of the Protista would impact humans.  There is even a parasitic wasp that lays its eggs inside *crickets* so you  could get a little extra protein from the larvae. The good news is  cooking kills the parasites. Don't forget to remove the legs and wings!
> 
> I'm post cartoons next time.
> 
> Is there something in the water in SW Ohio or do you guys just congregate there?


Sorry, I was thinking grasshoppers. I had a dummy moment. Maybe I'l get with Kyrat and we can open our own restaurant. KFC, Kentucky Fried Crickets!

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## RandyRhoads

> Randy, Randy, Randy. Where did you come up with that? First, you'll have to give me a source on tapeworms in insects. Never heard of it. There are only four that infect humans. faeces, beef, fish and dwarf. None of them get stuck in the throat. They live either in the upper or lower GI tract. 
> 
> As to your question RLT, there are a lot of parasites that feed on crickets and grasshoppers. I'm not sure how many of those are a pest to man. Nematodes, mites, ricketsia (does infect humans), Protista (there are oodles of Protista but the most commonly known is protozoa). I would hazard a guess that at least some of the Protista would impact humans. There is even a parasitic wasp that lays its eggs inside crickets so you could get a little extra protein from the larvae. The good news is cooking kills the parasites. Don't forget to remove the legs and wings!


.......wow.... I was talking about the grasshopper legs getting stuck in the throat, not the tapeworm........the hell........lol........




.............


"Raw grasshoppers should be eaten with caution, as they may contain tapeworms."

Source- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grasshopper

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## Wildthang

I am going to save the bugs until the world food supply is gone, or I'm lost without food and they are the only thing to eat! They will probably be tha last remaining food source on earth and I dont want them going extint any sooner than necessary :Smartass:

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## Rick

I did misread your post. My most humble apologies on the throat thingie. 

Thank you for the link. I have never seen a reference to tapeworms in insects. Got to love a learning moment!!!! Thanks!

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## Darkevs

never seen a reference to tapeworm in insects?   :Smile: 

fleas serve as carriers of tapeworm..............

so make sure your crickets do not have fleas.  hahahahah

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## Wildthang

> never seen a reference to tapeworm in insects?  
> 
> fleas serve as carriers of tapeworm..............
> 
> so make sure your crickets do not have fleas.  hahahahah


Better yet, just dont eat crickets! If I ever did eat a cricket, I would cook it enough to make darn sure that no parasite could live through the heat. How do you fillet a cricket :Confused:

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## RoadLessTraveled

Rick,

While most species of Tapeworm are carried exclusively by mammals such as cow, pig, or dogs and not carried by insects, I found this info in a wikipedia article.  One species of the Tapeworm (Hymenolepis nana) can be carried by beetles.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hymenolepiasis



> Hymenolepis is generally found in the feces of rats which is consumed by its secondary hosts: beetles. The worms mature into a life form referred to as a "cysticercoid" in the insect; in H. nana, the insect is always a beetle.


I couldn't find any other parasites that can be transmitted from insect to human.  But besides parasites, I'd expect that there are bacterial and viral concerns that should be considered before eating raw insects, the same as with eating other animals raw.





> I have never seen a reference to tapeworms in insects.

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## Thaddius Bickerton

I'm not real big on bugs as food, but for better or worse, uncle sam sent me to several wonderful vacation spots where bugs are among the general food, and I have also made a few trips to messico.

It isn't unusual to find "street food" that is bugs and other things that I find pretty unappetizing.

Up on the DMZ and down in seul in S. Korea it is probable that you will have opportunity to eat dog meat, in fact is is quite possible that you will get mystery meat in many of those dishes.  Just turn off your brain and eat.   It won't kill you, but I did find that large amounts of the local intoxicating beverage helped me to put it all down.

The ants down in messico that they cook up are to me just like burnt crispy things,  the sauce it the taste.

Well ya get the picture,  lot of people eat stuff that I find unusual and don't really want to eat, but most of it won't kill you and getting past our mental issues it more key than the actual "food".

I have eaten rattlesnake, then (i was pretty young the first time my uncle got me to try some) I sat around waiting for the poison to kill me .  Kids huh?

I have tried alligator, (don't like it)

Armadillo is pretty decent

Ground Hog puts me in mind of pork chops

Beaver is ok

Possum,  Nope, not interested in that greasy thing, not even if it was live caught and cleaned out with a diet of corn.

Deer, feral pig are good stuff

Bear is sweat like horse meat and I don't really care for either.

most fish, shell fish, and other lake creatures are edible to me

I'd say I have probably eaten as much strange stuff as anyone, and I'm still kicking.  some I liked, some I did not, some was pure mental some was actual taste.

I find that a bottle of tobasco, and sufficient beer (back when I actually drank a lot) makes eating most things do able.

The more stuff you can get yourself to eat, the more likely you are to be able to stay full no matter where life takes you.

Thad.

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## RoadLessTraveled

Thad, 

That's an incredible list of foods you've eaten.  I agree with your closing remark.  Spoken by one who obviously has walked the walk!




> The more stuff you can get yourself to eat, the more likely you are to be able to stay full no matter where life takes you.
> 
> Thad.

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## RandyRhoads

> I did misread your post. My most humble apologies on the throat thingie. 
> 
> Thank you for the link. I have never seen a reference to tapeworms in insects. Got to love a learning moment!!!! Thanks!


 :Smile:  I think i'm now going to have nightmares of throat tapeworms Rick. *shivers*......

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## Thaddius Bickerton

Oh, one thing worth adding:

It is a good idea to carry a bottle of pink bismuth (pepto) and some immodium tablets with you.  May not cure you if you do get some nasty, but it will help you stay alive till you can get to a Dr.

And water with a tea spoon of sugar and a pinch of salt will help you stay hydrated if you cannot get some gatoraid powder.

One last thought since I mentioned using beer to help wash down the stuff:  If you can get near a helicopter and grab a few deep breaths of the O2 tank it will clean out your head before you go on the next airlift etc.  (Back when I was young marine grunt exp.)

I heard they took the O2 off them later on, guess it was a bomb waiting to happen , even with that bitty tank, but it sure did clear out the old cobwebbs.

Ya'll have fun out there in the woods n keep smiling, it makes em wonder what you been up to.

Thad

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## RoadLessTraveled

Thad,

Did you grow up in Alabama, or move there later in life!  Wow.  Some brave folks in them hills.  

If those words don't put a healthy fear in us readers...

Thanks!

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## Rick

I guess I should reword my comments. I wasn't aware that insects could infect humans with tapeworms. That's the idea I was trying to get across but did a poor job of it apparently.

I was aware of the tapeworm problems from the four sources I described above but I've never read or heard of humans being infected with tapeworms from insects. I understand they have tapeworm eggs, larvae and cysts but I wasn't aware it was a specie that would thrive in humans.

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## RoadLessTraveled

In another part of the same wikipedia article, it says the following:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hymenolepiasis



> Humans and other animals become infected when they intentionally or unintentionally eat material contaminated by insects.


So I believe this is at least a claim that insects can transmit Tapeworms (H. nana) to humans.  I think it'd be safe to say that putting an infected insect onto your tongue would make your tongue "contaminated material".







> I guess I should reword my comments. I wasn't aware that insects could infect humans with tapeworms. That's the idea I was trying to get across but did a poor job of it apparently.
> 
> I was aware of the tapeworm problems from the four sources I described above but I've never read or heard of humans being infected with tapeworms from insects. I understand they have tapeworm eggs, larvae and cysts but I wasn't aware it was a specie that would thrive in humans.

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## Rick

In those cases what generally happens is the insect comes in contact with feces that is contaminated by tapeworm eggs. The eggs become attached to the legs of the insect that then transfers them to human food. Flies are an example example of this methodology. So the tapeworm actually came from a mammal (in this example) and was transferred by an insect to people.

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## RoadLessTraveled

Rick, I think you must be thinking of a different situation.

In the case of the H. nana tapeworm, the beetle does not merely transport the eggs on its legs.  It can properly be called "infected" by the tapeworm.  The tapeworm is living inside the beetle as a parasite.  The beetle is its host.  Humans can be infected indirectly by eating the eggs in the beetle's feces, or directly by eating the beetle.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hymenolepiasis



> Hymenolepis is generally found in the feces of rats which is consumed by its secondary hosts: beetles. *The worms mature into a life form referred to as a "cysticercoid" in the insect;* in H. nana, the insect is always a beetle. Humans and other animals become infected when they intentionally or unintentionally eat material contaminated by insects.


and




> Transmission of H.nana occurs via the fecal-oral route. It also occurs by accidental ingestion of insect containing the cysticercoid.







> In those cases what generally happens is the insect comes in contact with feces that is contaminated by tapeworm eggs. The eggs become attached to the legs of the insect that then transfers them to human food. Flies are an example example of this methodology. So the tapeworm actually came from a mammal (in this example) and was transferred by an insect to people.

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## Thaddius Bickerton

> Thad,
> 
> Did you grow up in Alabama, or move there later in life!  Wow.  Some brave folks in them hills.  
> 
> If those words don't put a healthy fear in us readers...
> 
> Thanks!


Moved from W. Va. holler to north Alabama when I was 9 or so.  Lived here since, except when the corp sent me to funny places with funny people and paid me to break things and hurt them.  Along the way I ended up making a few friends in most places, and tried what they ate.

Later on I took a good many trips to places that interested me, or that I could make some money working there.  

but aye, mostly alabama raised.

Saw the change from share cropper poverty over to the TVA influenced growths in the area.

Still keep a lot of that poverty knowledge alive.  A garden and a root cellar and putting up stuff for next year etc is just second nature to me.

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## kyratshooter

How close to Huntsville are you Mr Bickerton.  I have people in the Florence area.  I spent 50 years just north of you in southern Middle TN.

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## Rick

Wait....What?.....You are not a TRUE Kentuckian?! Oh the humanity!!!!!!!!!! You have deceived us, sir! Given us a false impression as it were. Jim Bowie and Kit Carson are probably rolling in their graves...not to mention Foster Brooks!

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## natertot

> Wait....What?.....You are not a TRUE Kentuckian?! Oh the humanity!!!!!!!!!! You have deceived us, sir! Given us a false impression as it were. Jim Bowie and Kit Carson are probably rolling in their graves...not to mention Foster Brooks!


If it makes you feel better, I'm not a true Ohioan. I was born in Texas and raised in Iowa! Lived in Virginia for four years then moved to Ohio where I have been for the last five years. I guess I should just claim American?!

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## Rick

Have you ever pulled the plug in the bathtub and watched the little whirlpool form? Just before water goes down the drain...right at the lip of the drain...that's Ohio. Nothing good ever comes from going to Ohio. You have to unload and case your blamed weapon. That is so.....so....archaic. So.....Illinois like. Do you really want to live in a state that's like Illinois?!

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## 2dumb2kwit

> Rick,
> 
> While most species of Tapeworm are carried exclusively by mammals such as cow, pig, or dogs and not carried by insects, I found this info in a wikipedia article.  One species of the Tapeworm (Hymenolepis nana) *can be carried by beetles*.
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hymenolepiasis
> 
> 
> I couldn't find any other parasites that can be transmitted from insect to human.  But besides parasites, I'd expect that there are bacterial and viral concerns that should be considered before eating raw insects, the same as with eating other animals raw.


There is a joke about Ringo-worm, in there somewhere. LOL

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## RoadLessTraveled

The best I could come up with is:

"Happiness is a Warm Bug"

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## natertot

> Have you ever pulled the plug in the bathtub and watched the little whirlpool form? Just before water goes down the drain...right at the lip of the drain...that's Ohio. Nothing good ever comes from going to Ohio. You have to unload and case your blamed weapon. That is so.....so....archaic. So.....Illinois like. Do you really want to live in a state that's like Illinois?!


What you mean? I keep mine on my person pretty much all the time!

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## Rick

You carry a tub plug? That sir, is just sick.

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