Certainly, there is a Western aversion to insects in general. Insects are thought of as pests which transmit diseases, and many people still look at them with same kind of disgust. Keep in mind: not all insects are good for humans’ consumption!
However, Humans in other parts of world, have been eating insects for many generations , especially in tropical climates where insects grow bigger, there are more of them, and “harvests” are often predictable because seasonal. . Edible insects are consumed for their nutritional value and play an essential role in human nutrition.
Among popular insects that are also part of the culinary heritage in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and other central African countries, we have .Mbinzo (edible caterpillars), Nswa or Ndonge (Flying Termites), makele (crickets) and mabanki (grasshoppers). These insects are rich in proteins highly digestible, vitamins and mineral. Edible insects have a wide range of host plants from forest trees to agricultural crops and their consumption stages are available at different periods of the year. They are collected by hand picking, digging of soil (from ground nests or mounds) and luring into water traps at night. Processing of collected insects could be carried out by boiling, sun drying, frying and roasting methods. Sun drying is the most commonly used processing technique probably because it does not require much input as compared to frying, boiling or roasting.