Grab Some GRUB
The act of entomophagy, or eating insects and other invertebrates, has long been practiced by many civilizations throughout the world. The animals in this article are just the tip of the iceberg in this field. So many invertebrates are edible, including cockroaches, many beetles, moth larvae, wasps, bees, scorpions, and spiders, that to cover them sufficiently would be a book unto itself. As we connect more deeply to the land, and as we come to depend on it more directly for our subsistence and survival, seeing these little ones as food can help us immensely.
Where I live, there are definitely edible invertebrates, but not in the same variation and abundance as other bioregions. I’ve read accounts of Paiute food gatherers burning a field of grass to expose and roast large quantities of grasshoppers, and indigenous Peruvians harvesting large numbers of edible tarantulas from caves. The invertebrates I mention here are widely distributed, but it’s worth checking to see what specific edible species live in your area.
Ants
Ants are the first wild animal I ever killed and ate, at the age of 4. Most ant species are edible, with a pleasantly sour
