J Hum Ecol, 60(1): 42-54 (2017) DOI: 10.1080/09709274.2017.1399632
A Study on the Use of Insects as Food in Seven Tribal Communities in Nagaland, Northeast India
Lobeno Mozhui1*, L. N. Kakati1 and Sapu Changkija2
1Department of Zoology, Nagaland University, Lumami 798 627, Nagaland, India 2Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Nagaland University, Medziphema 797 106, Nagaland, India
KEYWORDS Entomophagy. Food Security. Nagaland. Tribal Communities. Use Value. Utilization
ABSTRACT This paper documents the use of insect as food among seven tribal communities of Nagaland. Information was obtained through personal field interviews with 240 informants with the help of semi-structured questionnaires. It was found that 82 species of insects belonging to 9 orders (Odonata, Orthoptera, Mantodea, Isoptera, Hemiptera, Coleoptera, Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera and Diptera) are an important traditional food item principally consumed by the tribal people. Insects are preferred as eggs, larvae, nymphs, pupa or adult which are cooked, roasted or consumed raw. Documentation was done by calculating the “use value” (UV) of each species. It is evident from the study that insects can enhance nutritional deficiencies and can also improve the livelihood of the rural poor in the region. Hence, an inventory of food insects covering as many tribes is necessary so as to get benefit from their natural diversity before the existing traditional information is lost.
INTRODUCTION pold and Schlüter 2013) than the conventional foods mentioned. The world population is rap- Although some insects can transmit diseas- idly growing and in order to provide for the in- es and be pests, the vast majority is harmless creasing population developing insects for food and beneficial. Insects are actually rendering to and feed, as first suggested by Meyer-Rochow humans inestimable services as pollinators, as (1975) is now considered a viable strategy (Van predators of crop and storage pests, as sources Huis et al. 2015). Entomophagy has, therefore, of raw materials and as food. The utilization of been advocated worldwide as a source to com- insects as food by humans, known as entomoph- bat future food security mainly because of its agy, is widespread and known from different abundance, high nutrient composition, high feed parts of the world (Bodenheimer 1951), but it conversion efficiency, digestibility and ease with varies with regard to local population and eth- which they can be bred (Van Huis et al. 2015; nic group (Johnson 2010). Insects may have orig- Seni 2017; Alexander et al. 2017). Furthermore, inally been used as an emergency food item, but as a food source, edible insects can help to up- today about 2,140 insects are consumed by over lift the nutritional status of residents of poor 2 billion people on a regular basis (Mitsuhashi developing countries and at the same time can 2016; Bernard and Womeni 2017). serve as a complimentary food or food ingredi- Insects are appreciated as food because ent for developed countries (Sogari et al. 2017). compared to conventional meat sources (exam- A good amount of research on edible insects ple beef, pork and chicken), edible insects often has been carried out across different regions of contain more protein and in fact are usually rich- India viz. Arunachal Pradesh (Chakravorty et al. er in polyunsaturated fatty acids and minerals 2011b, 2013), Assam (Ronghang and Ahmed (Bukkens 1997; Chakravorty et al. 2011a; Rum- 2010; Doley and Kalita 2011; Narzari and Sarmah 2015; Dutta et al. 2016; Rabha 2016), Manipur *Address for correspondence: Lobeno Mozhui (Shantibala et al. 2012) and Tamil Nadu (Wilsan- Research Fellow and et al. 2007; Samuel et al. 2016). In fact, Mey- Ecology Laboratory, Department of Zoology, er-Rochow and Chakravorty (2013) have re- Nagaland University, viewed uses of edible insects in India and re- Lumami 798 627, Nagaland, India Telephone: 9615328799 ported that about 255 insect species were known E-mail: [email protected] at that time to be consumed by the members of UTILIZATION OF EDIBLE INSECTS IN NAGALAND 43 various ethnic communities in the country. There are accessible facing a considerable amount of is, however, limited information on edible insect difficulties due to improper road access. Angami consumption in Nagaland. Meyer-Rochow and tribes account to 7.2 percent, Ao tribes 13.3 per- Changkija (1997) prepared a list of 42 insect spe- cent, Chakhesang 7.7 percent, Khiamnuingan 2.2 cies consumed by the Ao-Naga tribe and Ao percent, Konyak 14.0 percent, Lotha 8.5 percent and Singh (2004) have carried out surveys in and Sumi 13.9 percent of the total tribal popula- Mokokchung and Zunheboto districts, inhabit- tion of Nagaland (Anonymous 2001). Members ed by Ao and Sema tribes and reported con- of the mentioned tribes differ from each other sumption of 15 edible insect species by the two not just physically but speak different dialects, tribes. Also, Srivastava et al. (2009) confirmed follow different customs and habits, including that some tribal communities from Dimapur, Phek food procurement and processing. and Kohima districts of Nagaland ate grasshop- An extensive field investigation was con- pers, crickets, red ants, silkworm larvae and un- ducted in 35 villages across seven districts viz. identified larvae obtained from the ‘Gold Mo- Kohima, Mokokchung, Mon, Phek, Tuensang, har’ tree but for the majority of the Naga tribes Wokha and Zunheboto inhabited by the seven information on edible insects is still unavailable. ethnic tribes during October 2014-October 2016, Since, Naga people like any other ethnic com- shown in Figure 1. Data were collected by con- munities of the country are known to use differ- ducting personal interviews with the help of ent kinds of plant and animal foodstuffs, and semi-structured questionnaires from 240 infor- given the cultural dissimilarities between the mants (150 male and 90 female). From each vil- tribes and its geographic and climatic variation, lage 6-8 respondents comprising of village heads, differences are expected with regard to the ap- traditional knowledge holders (key informants), preciation of insects as food as well as the way educated youths and homemakers (general in- specimens are gathered and processed. formants) were interviewed for the study, pro- vided in Table 1. The questionnaire was based Objectives of the Study on collecting information on insect species used as food, habitat, seasonal availability, the tradi- People of Naga ethnicity have been consum- tional mode of preparation and trap techniques. ing insects since time immemorial as a tradition- Collected edible insects were preserved in sev- al food but in recent time people have realized enty percent alcohol (Cherian et al. 2004; Gill et its benefit to one’s health. A lot of individuals al. 2010), identified at Department of Zoology, who haven’t tasted are willing to consume a Nagaland University with the help of published variety of insects. Therefore, this study was ini- keys, books (Anonymous 2006; Mitra 2006; tiated in order to prepare inventories of edible Mandal et al. 2007; Animesh and Biswas 2013) insects covering seven tribes so as to be able to Table 1: Demographic characteristics at the study assess the insect’s benefit before either the ex- ar ea isting traditional information is lost or overex- ploitation of useful insect species occurs. Variables Number of informants
Gender MATERIAL AND METHODS Male 150 (63%) Female 90 (37%) Nagaland, situated at 93o 20’-95o 15’ E and Age Group 25o 6’-270 4’ N is bordered by Arunachal Pradesh 25-34 22 (9%) 35-44 29 (12%) in the North, Manipur in the south, Myanmar in 45-54 50 (21%) the East and Assam in the West and considered 55-64 55 (23%) one of the major biodiversity hotspots (Indo- 65-74 47 (20%) 75-84 26 (11%) Burma region) of the world (Myer et al. 2000). 85-94 6 (2%) Nagaland has a total area of 16,579 square km 95-104 5 (2%) and a population of 1,980,602 with 931 female for Educational Status Below high school 145 (60%) every 1000 males (Anonymous 2012). The sev- Above high school 95 (40%) en Naga tribes namely Angami, Ao, Chakhesang, Informants Status Khiamnuingan, Konyak, Lotha and Sumi occu- Key informant 108 (45%) py different section of the state and some areas General informant 132 (55%) 44 LOBENO MOZHUI, L. N. KAKATI AND SAPU CHANGKIJA
Fig. 1. Map of Nagaland showing study area and tribes Source: Survey of India toposheets UTILIZATION OF EDIBLE INSECTS IN NAGALAND 45 and authenticated by experts from the Zoologi- pastes of Gynocardia odorata (R. Br.) and Lit- cal Survey of India, Kolkata. sea cubeba (Lour.) into their nests to collect the Quantitative data analysis was done by cal- useful products. Smoking is also a method culating the use value of all the insect species whereby a piece of cloth, tied onto a long bam- as proposed by Phillips et al. (1994) and was boo stick is lit to kill or drive away the adults calculated by using the formula, UV= “U/n where allowing the nutritious larvae and pupae to be UV is the use value of the species, U is the num- collected. A similar smoking method to capture ber of citations per species and n is the total bees is practiced by the Manipur tribals (Shan- number of informants. tibala et al. 2012). For capturing hornets, espe- cially Vespa mandarinia (Smith), a small piece RESULTS AND DISCUSSION of meat (bites) is tied onto one end of a thin threat and a light feather or fluff of cotton fixed Based on the responses from the informants on the other end. When an adult hornet attacks in this study, it is evident that 82 insect species and grabs the meat piece and flies away with it, belonging to 28 families and 9 orders, provided the hunters follow the feather/cotton attached in Table 2 are consumed as food by the tribal to the bite and in this way easily locate the nest. communities. Edible insects, considered delica- A similar capturing method like that of hornets cies comprise different kinds of bees, beetles, is reported in Japan for capturing yellowjackets bugs, cicadas, crickets, grasshoppers, locusts, (Nonaka 2007). Cicadas are trapped with the help wasps and various larval forms of insects. The of a long bamboo pole, the tip of which is cov- list includes 8 species of Odonata, 17 species of ered with latex extract of the Indian rubber bush Orthoptera, 2 species of Mantodea, 1 species of Ficus elastica (Robx. Ex Hornem). The cicadas Isoptera, 19 species of Hemiptera, 9 species of get stuck on the sticky extract and are captured Coleoptera, 20 species of Hymenoptera, 5 spe- easily. Aquatic insects are captured while fish- cies of Lepidoptera and 1 species of Diptera. ing or with the help of traditional sieves. Insects generally are accessible throughout the The present study gives an overview and year, but their densities and diversity are deter- provides an insight into attitude and knowledge mined by the availability of their host plants and of entomophagy among different tribes of Na- climatic conditions. Insects are most abundant galand wherein insects are consumed as eggs, during the rainy and post-rainy season which larvae or nymphs, pupae and adults depending means that some insect species’ availability as on the insect species. Preference is given to spe- human food is seasonal. During every cycle of cies primarily on the basis of availability, palat- the season, characteristic varieties of insects are ability and cost. Insects are cooked, roasted, sold at the local markets indicative of seasonal consumed raw or turned into pickles. Tradition- abundance. Generally, edible insects that are sold al methods of preparation are followed while at local markets are collected by people residing making insect dishes serving as the main meal in rural places, who earn or at least augment for the Nagas. Most of the Naga dishes are pre- their livelihood from the sales. However, the col- pared by adding fresh or dried bamboo shoots. lection of wild species to supply the urban mar- The bamboo borer larvae Omphisa fuscidental- ket can have both positive and negative impact is (Hampson) is wrapped in banana leaf and cov- on the rural biodiversity (Cerritos and Cano-Sa- ered by warm ash for steaming. The steamed natana 2008) and this aspect requires further in- larvae are then consumed directly. Crickets like vestigation. Most of the edible insects consumed Tarbinskiellus orientalis (Fabr.) and Teleogryl- by the tribals are available during the months of lus sp. (Chopard) and dragonfly nymphs are October and November, which is the time when mixed with salt and bamboo shoot, put in cut locusts, grasshoppers, water beetles, dragonfly bamboo pipes (approximately 30 cm in length). nymphs, carpenter worms as well as, different The mouth of the bamboo pipe is closed with a species of hornets and wasps are widely mar- banana leaf to enhance the aroma and is then keted which are generally sold by women. placed in the fire to cook. However, certain spe- Almost all the edible insects are handpicked, cies like Oecophylla smaragdina (Fabr.), however, in case of bees and wasps, adults are Parapolybia varia (Fabr.), Polistes olivaceus driven away either by shooting camphor (a com- (De Geer), Vespa mandarinia and Vespa tropi- pound commonly used as an insect repellent) or ca tropica (Linn.) are consumed raw. Among 46 LOBENO MOZHUI, L. N. KAKATI AND SAPU CHANGKIJA - - - S 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.6 S L 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.5 0.7 0.3 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.8 0.9 0.3 L ------Kh Kh 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.5 0.7 0.6 0.8 - - - - - K K 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.8 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.5 - - - 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.6 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.8 C C 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.5 0.7 0.2 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.8 0.7 0.5 0.2 An An - - 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.4 0.5 0.7 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 A A Use value (UV) Use value (UV) Stage Edible Edible stage nymph, adult nymph, adult nymph, adult nymph, adult nymph, adult nymph, adult nymph, adult nymph, adult adult adult adult adult adult adult adult adult adult adult Availability Seasonal Seasonal availability July-Nov July-Nov July-Nov July-Nov July-Nov July-Nov July-Nov July-Nov June-Oct June-Oct June-Oct June-Oct June-Oct June-Oct June-Oct Aug-Nov Sept-Nov Aug- Nov name Local Local name Tsakwie (An) Tsutalang (A) Zakho (C) Susao (L) Atsungosuh(S) Khudu (An) Tsutsukha (S) Khudu (An) Amachongkok (A) Khomong (L) Surapong (A) Tuluqhu (S) Koksha (K) Kuprei (An) Teku (An) Petu (An) Panto (L) Auvushou (S) name Common Common name blue percher common red skimmer fulvous forest skimmer dragon fly dragon fly slender skimmer yellow tailed ashy skimmer globe skimmer Chinese grasshopper grasshopper grasshopper rice grasshopper locust two striped grasshopper short horned grasshopper house cricket field cricket cricket Family Family Libellulidae Libellulidae Libellulidae Libellulidae Libellulidae Libellulidae Libellulidae Libellulidae Acrididae Acrididae Acrididae Acrididae Acrididae Acrididae Acrididae Gryllidae Gryllidae Gryllidae Sely Rambur Fabr. Serville Linn. Linn. Say Rambur Fabr. Drury Saussure Table 2: Insect species utilizedScientific as food at thename surveyed tribes Table 2: Insect species utilizedScientific as food at the surveyedname tribes Diplacodes trivialis Orthetrum pruinosum neglectum Rambur Neurothemis fulvia Drury Crocothemis servilia servilia Drury Potamarcha congener Orthetrum sabina sabina Orthetrum triangulare triangulare Pantala flavescens Acrida exaltata Walker Attractomorpha sp. Chondracris rosea De Geer Hieroglyphus banian Melanoplus sp. Stal Melanoplus bivattus Oxya hyla Acheta sp. Gryllus sp. Meloimorpha cincticornis Walker UTILIZATION OF EDIBLE INSECTS IN NAGALAND 47
Table 2: Contd...
Scientific Family Common Local Seasonal Edible Use value (UV) name name name Availability Stage A An C K Kh L S 48 LOBENO MOZHUI, L. N. KAKATI AND SAPU CHANGKIJA - - - - S 0.6 0.6 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.2 0.7 0.3 0.3 0.7 0.8 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.9 1.0 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.5 0.8 0.5 0.5 0.9 0.8 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.5 L ------0.7 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 Kh ------0.5 0.6 0.8 0.8 0.5 0.7 0.8 K ------0.8 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.4 0.8 0.4 0.8 0.9 0.5 C - 0.7 0.5 0.8 0.8 0.4 0.7 0.3 0.3 0.8 0.9 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.3 An 0,7 ------0.7 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.4 0.6 0.5 0.5 0.8 0.7 A Use value (UV) Stage adult adult adult adult adult adult adult adult adult adult adult adult adult adult adult adult adult adult Edible Availability Aug- Nov Aug- Nov Aug-Nov June-Oct June-Oct June-Oct June-Oct July-Sept July-Sept Nov-Dec Nov-Jan Aug-Nov Aug-Nov Aug-Nov Aug-Nov Aug-Nov May-July May-Aug Seasonal name Chokok (A) Shungru (L) Langhoi (K) Lephak (K) Shulong (L) Tyotyo (L) Chure (C) Zierho (An) Shopilea (S) Holum (L) Atsuluplu (A) Kiang (Kh) Ghoi (S) Yoro(L) Yangyang (A) Thakpu (S) Lejuptsseni (L) Tsseni (L) Local name ground cricket cricket mole cricket katydid katydid katydid katydid Chinese mantis giant Asian mantis termite giant water bug cicada cicada cicada cicada cicada dead leaf-footed bug coreid bug Common Gryllidae Gryllidae Gryllotalpidae Tettigoniidae Tettigoniidae Tettigoniidae Tettigoniidae Manitidae Manitidae Termitidae Belostomatidae Cicadidae Cicadidae Cicadidae Cicadidae Cicadidae Coreidae Coreidae Family Haan Fabr. Fabr. Saussure Linn. Distant Amyot Lepeltier White Teleogryllus sp. Chopard Tarbinskiellus orientalis Gryllotalpa orientalis Burmeister Mecopoda nipponensis Mecopoda elongata Pseudophyllus titan Tettigonia sp. Linn. Tenodera sinensis Saussure Heirodula coarctata Macrotermes sp. Holmgren Lethocerus indicus and Serville Tibicen pruinosa Say Dundubia intemerata Walker Dundubia oopaga Pomponia sp. Walker Pycna sp. and Serville Dalader planiventris Westwoood Anoplocnemis phasiana Table 2: Contd... Scientific name UTILIZATION OF EDIBLE INSECTS IN NAGALAND 49 - 0.7 0.6 0.3 0.4 0.7 0.3 0.2 0.6 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.5 S 0.6 0.6 0.5 0.5 0.7 0.4 0.3 0.7 0.3 0.6 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.7 L ------0.7 0.5 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.6 Kh ------0.7 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.6 K - - - - - 0.7 0.5 0.9 0.5 0.8 0.5 0.5 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.6 0.9 0.9 C - 0.7 0.6 0.4 0.5 0.8 0.4 0.3 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.9 0.9 An ------0.8 0.5 0.7 0.5 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.9 0.5 0.6 0.7 A Use value (UV) Stage Edible adult adult adult adult adult adult adult adult adult adult adult larva, adult larva larva larva, adult larva adult adult Availability Seasonal Aug-Sept Dec-Jan May-July May-July Oct-Jan May-July May-July May-Nov Aug-Sept May-July May-July Sept-Jan June-Nov June-Nov July-Nov Oct-Nov July-Nov July-Nov name Local Khuna (C) Pfenya (An) Azupaza (S) Khwino (C) Julyupli (L) Amtsu (S) Tseni (L) Oshang (L) Pfunya (An) Tsüngi (A) Gea (K) Sungkhao (L) Sunglong (A) Yeak (K) Langkho (Kh) Akhulo (S) Befu (S) Khuju (C) name Common leaf footed bug black sting bug stink bug red pumpkin stink bug water scorpion green stink bug stink bug shield bug yellow spotted stink bug pentatomid bug litchi stink bug long horn beetle long horn beetle long horn beetle long horn beetle palm weevil water beetle large scavenging water beetle Family Coreidae Dinidoridae Dinidoridae Dinidoridae Nepidae Pentatomidae Pentatomidae Pentatomidae Pentatomidae Pentatomidae Tessaratomidae Cerambycidae Cerambycidae Cerambycidae Cerambycidae Curcurlionidae Dytiscidae Hydropillidae Fabr. Dallas Linn. Hope Herbst Table 2: Contd... Scientific name Notobitus meleagris Aspongopus nepalensis Westwood Coridius chinensis Coridius ianus Fabr. Laccotrephes ruber Chinavia hilaris Say Cyclopelta siccifolia Westwood Dolycoris sp. Mulsant and Rey Erthesina fullo Thunberg Eurostus grossipes Dallas Tessaratoma javanica Thunberg Anoplophora sp. Batocera rubus Linn. Batocera parryi Hope Orthosoma sp. Serville Rhynchophorus sp. Cybister limbatus Fabr. Hydrophilus caschmirensis Redtenbacher 50 LOBENO MOZHUI, L. N. KAKATI AND SAPU CHANGKIJA - - - 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 1.0 1.0 S 0.5 0.3 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 0.3 1.0 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 1.0 1.0 L - - - 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.5 0.6 0.6 1.0 1.0 Kh - - - 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.6 1.0 1.0 K - - 0.3 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 1.0 1.0 C - - - 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 0.6 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 1.0 1.0 An - - - 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.5 0.5 0.8 0.8 0.8 1.0 1.0 A Use value (UV) Stage Edible adult adult all all all all all all honey all all all all all all all all all all all Availability Seasonal June-Aug Aug-Sept Whole year Sept-May Sept-May Sept-Feb Sept-Feb Sept-Feb May-Oct May-July May-Sept May-Sept May-Sept Sept-Feb Sept-Feb Sept-Feb May-Nov May-Nov Sept-Feb May-Nov name Local Shushu (L) Bonge (An) Loviidzii (C) Tsakhmhen (L) Lungnang (A) Rhontso (L) Ruyo (An) Litsaktsu (L) Khvukhvu (L) Kheyao (K) Vobhazho (C) Kheahrean (K) Pughughi (S) Pfize (An) Rongi (L) Khwibi (C) Nati (A) Heseno (An) Lamla (Kh) Akizu (S) name Common brown rhinoceros beetle white grub Indian honey bee giant honey bee Himalayan honey bee dwarf honey bee stingless bee underground stingless bee violet carpenter bee weaver ant lesser paper wasp common paper wasp paper wasp nocturnal wasp lesser banded hornet hornet hornet hornet giant hornet greater banded hornet Family Scarabaeidae Scarabaeidae Apidae Apidae Apidae Apidae Apidae Apidae Apidae Formicidae Vespidae Vespidae Vespidae Vespidae Vespidae Vespidae Vespidae Vespidae Vespidae Vespidae Fabr. Smith Fabr. Smith Cockerell Fabr. Linn. Linn. Fabr. gdina Fabr. smara epidotrigona Table 2: Contd... Scientific name Xylotrupes gideon Lepidiota stigma Fabr. Apis cerana indica Apis dorsata dorsata Apis dorsata laboriosa Apis florea L arcifera Lophotrigona canifrons Xylocopa violacea Linn. Oecophylla Parapolybia varia Polistes olivaceus De Geer Polistes stigma Fabr. Provespa barthelemyi du Buysson Vespa affinis indosinensis Perez Vespa auraria Smith Vespa basalis Smith Vespa ducalis Smith Vespa mandarinia Smith Vespa tropica t ropica UTILIZATION OF EDIBLE INSECTS IN NAGALAND 51
the different section of the world, edible insects 0.7 0.4 0.7 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.8 0.6 S are either consumed alive right after being caught or consumed after further processing such as - 0.8 0.3 0.7 0.8 0.7 0.4 0.9 L cooking, baking, frying or drying (Kourimska and Adamkova 2016). Ant pupae were used as - 0.5 0.1 0.7 0.6 0.4 0.8 0.8 Kh delicacies for the nobility in China (Chen 1994) while in Mexico grasshoppers are a commonly - 0.6 0.4 0.7 0.7 0. 0.6 0.9 K served national dish together with beef and beans (Cerritos and Cano-Santana 2008). How- ever, the acceptability of edible insects will de- - 0.7 0.6 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.8 C pend largely on their market availability, catego- rization as an acceptable food product, proper - 0.8 0.5 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.9 0.9
An marketing strategies, mode of preparation and education (Sogari et al. 2017).
- Differences regarding consumption of edi- 0.8 0.3 0.7 0.4 0.4 0.8 0.9 A ble insects among the seven tribes investigated by the researchers are presented in Figure 2. It is
Use value (UV) found that members of the Lotha tribe consume the most number of insects with a total of 81 edible insects (8 Odonata, 17 Orthoptera, 2 Man- Stage Edible all all larva larva larva larva larva, pupa larva todea, 1 Isoptera, 19 Hemiptera, 9 Coleoptera, 20 Hymenoptera and 5 Lepidoptera). Members of Angami tribe consumes 76 species (8 Odonata, 17 Orthoptera, 2 Mantodea, 1 Isoptera, 18 Hemi-
Availability ptera, 6 Coleoptera, 19 Hymenoptera, 4 Lepi- Seasonal Sept-Feb May-Nov July-Feb Aug-Oct Sept-Nov Nov-Dec Whole year Sept-Jan doptera and 1 Diptera) and those belonging to Sumi tribe consumes 71 species (8 Odonata, 14 Orthoptera, 2 Mantodea, 1 Isoptera, 15 Hemi- ptera, 6 Coleoptera, 19 Hymenoptera, 5 Lepi- doptera and 1 Diptera). Chakhesang tribals con- sume 65 species (8 Odonata, 14 Orthoptera, 2 name Mantodea, 1 Isoptera, 8 Hemiptera, 8 Coleoptera, Local Pfigwi (An) Otssak (L ) Loungu (An) Kavuli (C) Leshong (Kh) Mesanglong (A) Gishong (K) Sonhe (An) 19 Hymenoptera, 4 Lepidoptera and 1 Diptera) while the Ao tribals make use of at least 60 spe- cies of insects as food (8 Odonata, 14 Ortho- ptera, 2 Mantodea, 1 Isoptera, 5 Hemiptera, 6 Coleoptera, 19 Hymenoptera and 5 Lepidoptera). Konyak tribals consumes 54 species (8 Odona- name Common hornet hornet moth bamboo borer rounded palm-redeye tent caterpillar eri silkworm cranefly ta, 10 Orthoptera, 1 Mantodea, 1 Isoptera, 6 Hemi- ptera, 4 Coleoptera, 19 Hymenoptera and 5 Lep- idoptera) while those belonging to the Khiam- nuingan tribe consumes the least number, with 48 species (8 Odonata, 5 Orthoptera, 7 Hemi- ptera, 4 Coleoptera, 19 Hymenoptera, 4 Lepi- doptera and 1 Diptera). Family Vespidae Vespidae Cossidae Crambidae Hesperiidae Lasiocampidae Saturniidae Tipulidae Not all the listed 82 insect species are con- sumed by all the seven tribes. The differences regarding consumption seem due to three rea- du Linn.
Fabr. sons which are the availability of the specific
Boisduval insect species in particular area, taboos associ- ated with the insect species (Meyer-Rochow 2009) and allergy caused by eating certain in- Table 2: Contd... Scientific name Vespa Vespa soror Buysson Vespula sp. Thomson Cossus sp. Omphisa fuscidentalis Hampson Erionata torus Evans Malacosoma sp. Hübner Samia cynthia ricini Tipula sp. A-Ao, An-Angami, C-Chakhesang, Kh-Khiamnuingan, K-Konyak, L-Lotha, S-Sumi 52 LOBENO MOZHUI, L. N. KAKATI AND SAPU CHANGKIJA
Fig. 2. Utilization of edible insects among seven tribes sects. With use value of 1.0, it is obvious that 0.9 Lethocerus indicus (Lepeltier and Serville), Hymenopterans like Apis cerana indica (Fabr.), Cybister limbatus (Fabr.) and Hydrophilus Apis dorsata dorsata (Fabr.), Apis dorsata la- caschmirensis (Redtenbacher) is popular food boriosa (Smith),Apis florea (Fabr.), Lepidotrig- insects of the Angami and Chakhesang tribals. ona arcifera (Cockerell), Lophotrigona cani- Samia cynthia ricini (Boisduval), also achieves frons (Smith), Vespa mandarinia and Vespa trop- a use value 0.9 and is the preferred species of ica tropica are most preferred by the all of the the Angami, Konyak and Lotha tribals. The use seven tribes. With a use value of 1.0, Oecophyl- values demonstrate that every tribe has a pref- la smaragdina is preferred by the Ao and Lotha erence of its own with regard to insect consump- tribals. Acrida exaltata (Walker) is found to be tion. Obviously, if all tribes possessed the same consumed by Ao, Angami and Lotha members alone, the most likely reason being its unavail- preference of edible insects and selected only ability in the places of the other tribals. Evidence the same species, there would be a tremendous suggests that individuals who are sensitive to pressure on the resources. By spreading across shrimp may be allergic to certain insects like many different species of insects, edible insect grasshoppers and disparity in geographical food as a resource is less vulnerable and less at risk traditions may lead to variation in food allergy of getting exploited excessively. However, wheth- risks (Meyer-Rochow 2009; Belluco et al. 2013). er this ecological aspect is one reason for the Chondracris rosea (De Geer) whose chemical observed differences between tribal choices of composition was analyzed by Chakravorty et al. selecting particular insect species as food or (2014) is consumed by the Angami and Lotha whether other factors are involved in governing tribe alone because many locals feel that its con- their food preferences, for the time being, re- sumption can cause allergy. With a use value of main unexplored. UTILIZATION OF EDIBLE INSECTS IN NAGALAND 53
CONCLUSION Anonymous 2001. Census of India 2001. Nagaland, Data Highlights: The Scheduled Tribes. From
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