EDIBLE INSECTS: AWARENESS, PERCEPTIONS AND PREPARATIONS AS AN

ALTERNATIVE FOOD RESOURCE AMONGST COMMUNITIES IN REGION IV-A

(CALABARZON)

GLEN LINO GEGANTOCA GUAEZO

______________________________________________________________________
A graduate thesis presented to the faculty of the Graduate School and Open
Learning Center of Cavite State University in partial fulfilment of the requirements for
graduation with the degree of Master of Science in Biology, with contribution
no._______. Prepared under the supervision of Evelyn O. Singson, PhD

INTRODUCTION

Food resources are sometimes scarce and not enough for the community because

of changing seasons, we often seek different alternative sources of food that may serve

as sustainable source of nutrition and because of a long historical relationship between

insects and human culture it extends back into antiquity. Many species of insects

(probably 1000 or more) have served as traditional foods among indigenous peoples,

especially in warmer climates, and the insects have played an important role in the

history of human nutrition. The hunter-gatherer style of life, the main criteria for

selection of these traditional species appears to be medium-to-large size and easy

availability, i.e., abundance, as noted by Dufour and others. Thus it is not surprising that

many insects considered as crop pests in modern agriculture have served as important

food sources. In the nineteenth century, useful insects were studied in considerable detail

and divided into the following seven categories: 1) insects producing silk; 2) insects

producing honey, wax, etc.; 3) insects as sources of dyes; 4) insects producing manna

(sap or juice exuded by a plant pricked by an insect); 5) edible insects; 6) insects as

sources of medicine; and 7) insects as ornaments (Bodenheimer 1951). In addition

insects provide essential ecosystem services such as pollination, composting, wildfire

protection and pest control (Losey and Vaughan, 2006). Edible insects, such as

honeybees, dung beetles and weaver ants, eaten extensively in the tropics, which does

perform many of these ecological services.

Insects may create a great deal of damage in field crops, such as locusts, to

control these kinds of pests farmers opted to consumed them because of their availability

but not knowing the potential nutritive value. Locusts and grasshoppers, which often

occur in swarms, are good examples, and these insects have been included in the diets of

almost every culture with any history of food-insect use. This organism maybe a source

of protein, especially in the dried form in which they are frequently stored or sold in the

village markets of developing countries; some are high in fat (energy) and many are rich

sources of important vitamins and minerals. Cerritos and Cano-Santana (2008)

documented the effectiveness of handpicking the popular edible grasshoppers called

chapulines (Sphenarium purpurascens) from fields of Alfalfa to protect the crop and the

insect without chemical control. With comparable (although slightly lower) crop yields,

mechanical control has the advantage of considerably lower environmental damage as

well as generating an extra source of nutrition and income from the consumption and

sale of grasshoppers. Pesticide use is frowned on in many Arab regions; handpicking

locusts reduces the impact of the insect on crops and provides an additional source of

food. Saeed, Dagga and Sarraf (1993) demonstrated the occurrence of pesticides toxic to

humans in locusts that were captured during an outbreak, thereby indicating a health risk

to humans consuming these locusts.

 DeFoliart (1992) provided a brief general overview of the nutritional quality of

edible insects. Studies that provide nutrient analyses for a number of species in specific

countries include Quin (1959) in South Africa, Oliveira and colleagues (1976) in

Angola, Malaisse and Parent (1980) in Zaire, Gope and Prasad (1983) in India,

Sungpuag and Puwastien (1983) in Thailand, Conconi and colleagues (1984) and

Ramos-Elorduy and Pino (1989, 1990) in Mexico. In addition, the more popular edible

insects include June beetles, ants (eggs), mole crickets, water beetles, katydids and

dragonfly larvae. More recently, the preference for honey bee brood, particularly Apis

cerana F. and A. dorsata F., was documented by Tilde et al. (2000).

The edible insect resource is primarily a category of non-wood forest products

(NWFPs) collected from natural resources (Boulidam, 2010). Edible insects inhabit a

large variety of habitats, such as aquatic ecosystems, forests and agricultural fields. On a

smaller scale, edible insects may feed on the foliage of vegetation (e.g. caterpillars) or

roots (e.g. witchetty grubs), live on the branches and trunks of trees (e.g. cicadas) or

thrive in soils (e.g. dung beetles).

Foresters and forest industries have long considered caterpillars as pests because

they feed on fresh leaves (tree foliage) and are therefore perceived to be harmful to tree

populations. In reality, however, trees respond to such browsing by producing more

foliage. NGasse et al. (2004) observed that leaf consumption by caterpillars had only a

limited impact on trees. In fact, the collection of caterpillars in the forest could be

considered a method of biocontrol, so long as trees are not cut during the caterpillar

harvest (Vantomme, Ghler and NDeckere-Ziangba, 2004). In exchange, caterpillar

protection could greatly benefit from host tree conservation and management (Holden,

1991; Munthali and Mughogho, 1992; Chidumayo and Mbata, 2002; Toms and
Thagwana, 2005). In addition, better knowledge of a particular insect species biology

and ecology can lead to more than an understanding of its seasonality, for example, or

the development of efficient tools to collect them. It may also enable the manipulation of

an edible insects habitat at a small or large scale, such as the insects behaviour and

availability throughout the year (Van Itterbeeck and van Huis, 2012).
Objective of the study

This study aims to document and organize existing indigenous knowledge on

edible insects, their preparation and its utilization.

Specifically, this study aims to;

a. determine the knowledge of people within the communities of Region IV-A on

edible insects;

b. document edible insects preparation that is being sold in market and being

utilized as food product or nutraceuticals;

c. determine the nutritive composition of each indigenous insects found on this

communities;
Importance of the study

The traditional use of insects as food continues to be widespread in tropical and

subtropical countries and to provide significant nutritional, economic and ecological

benefits for rural communities. Westerners should become more aware of the fact that

their bias against insects as food has an adverse impact, resulting in a gradual reduction

in the use of insects without replacement of lost nutrition and other benefits (DeFoliart,

1999). As protein sources, the nutritive value of edible insects is as good as other

animals or plants. Insects are characterized by rich species diversity and large

populations, therefore as nutritive resources, edible insects can be widely used and have

great development potential. In promoting insects as human food, relative nutritive

values should be taken into consideration to provide the maximum benefit to human

consumers (Chen Xiaoming et.al., 1999).

The edible insect industry has much potential for providing protein sources in the

future and for income generation among Thai farmers. Development and area on of

intensive insect farms on small and large scales could take the pressure o wild

populations of insects in forest areas. This study will be conducted to put more attention

and knowledge to people in edible insects as an alternative food source with definitive

nutrient value of insects found on communities in Region IV-A.