I was browsing through CM Safaris' website and found the picture below. Can anyone tell me what type of larvae they are? They look like caterpillars on steroids. I know bugs are quite common food in many cultures, anyone tasted these particular bugs before while on safari?

They look like a beetle larvae, but I do not know African insects. They don't look like they have serious legs, so I would guess maybe they are found in wood or decaying vegetative mats. Mobility wouldn't be as important when you are surrounded by food.
Bfly

I ate some Mopane worms at the Victoris Falls Safari Lodge Restaurant. They looked similar but these are bigger than the ones I had.

Not bad tasting, but not something to go looking for.

BigB

I hope they are not gonna eat those?

They can eat them, just don't try to feed them to me!

They get called a variety of names in different places and are often found in rotten tree trunks. Notably in acacia tortillis.

Often called mopane worms or mabunga grubs, you can BBQ then for a few minutes or even put them directly on glowing embers and then suck the insides out.

At the risk of getting picky, I think the mopane worm is a caterpiller that feeds on the mopane tree and the mabunga grub lives inside the aforementioned trees.

See here: http://www.scienceinafrica.co....5/january/mopane.htm

some people claim they taste of peanut butter but to me, and to coin a phrase (from memory) from Crocodile Dundee, they taste like shit but will keep you alive.

Personally, I'd rather have a steak or a good ruby murray.

If you roast them, and eat the insides - what is the difference between eating these caterpillars and eating a crawdad?

quote:

Originally posted by dogcat:
If you roast them, and eat the insides - what is the difference between eating these caterpillars and eating a crawdad?

What's a crawdad?..... is it the same as a crayfish?

Excellent source of protein

Oscar.

quote:

Originally posted by shakari:

quote:

Originally posted by dogcat:
If you roast them, and eat the insides - what is the difference between eating these caterpillars and eating a crawdad?

What's a crawdad?..... is it the same as a crayfish?

Yes - in most of the eastern and southern US crawdad or crawfish are the most common name for a fresh water miniature crayfish. Sometimes also called mudbugs. Boiled in large quantities with spices, corn (maize) and potatoes and served with beer they are a traditional feast in Louisiana.

quote:

Originally posted by buckeyeshooter:
They can eat them, just don't try to feed them to me!

Yes Steve it is the same. It is a regional thing. Some places say one others use the other term.

OK, thanks guys.

In that case I've often had crawdads when I lived in the UK where we used to have permanent traps for 'em in the local trout lakes. We'd usually steam then and eat cold with a good salad of some kind...... and very nice they are too.

The difference between crawdads and these things is that crawdads have a gently firm texture, a nice delicate flavour and go very well with a crisp dry white wine.

The other things have the texture of warm lumpy toothpaste, taste like shit and you'd use the wine to wash your mouth out to get rid of the taste.

ADDED

We used to have the European crayfish but they got cleared out by the larger North American crayfish.

Geez! We've eaten about everything we came across in Africa including cats, hippo, zebra, water lilly bulbs, palm ivory, and even a puff adder. I don't think I could get on over one of those grubs though. The thought of sucking out its insides is pretty repulsive. Yuck!

Mark

Mark,

You do not suck out the insides you just chew them up, you know kind of like candy.

I have had a few things worse in Japan & China.

BigB

I'm with you Mark, I'd have to pass on that dish as it came around the table.

Crawfish on the other hand, give me about 8 lbs perfectly spiced with some corn and potatoes, a couple cold beers and look out!!!

If given the opportunity, I wouldn't hesitate to eat them. Back in my early college days, ate some flat headed borers from an oak tree that tasted a lot like mushy sawdust. For goodness sakes, I regularly eat raw oysters. Nothing much more disgusting than that. Was just to a Purribot (spelling might be wrong). It's an Icelandic winter feast. That food was interesting and in some cases identifiable.
My only rule for food is that it can't be running fast when I eat it.
You just never know what you're going to like.
Bfly

Ate ants and grasshoppers before, but I was kind of hungry. Somehow crunchy makes yucky taste better

quote:

Originally posted by Black Fly:
If given the opportunity, I wouldn't hesitate to eat them. Back in my early college days, ate some flat headed borers from an oak tree that tasted a lot like mushy sawdust. For goodness sakes, I regularly eat raw oysters. Nothing much more disgusting than that. Was just to a Purribot (spelling might be wrong). It's an Icelandic winter feast. That food was interesting and in some cases identifiable.
My only rule for food is that it can't be running fast when I eat it.
You just never know what you're going to like.
Bfly

I love raw oysters!! When I hunted banteng in Coburg we would wade out on the reef and chisel them off the rocks with a hammer. They were huge! Pried them open and ate them alive! Umm! Didn't taste disgusting! Wish I had some right now.

Raw oysters? Yeah! Raw tuna sashimi? Definitely! Crawdads? Where? Gimme! Raw scallops when diving? Lemme attem! Those grubs? I'm game. Pass the piri-piri.

we'll make a southerner out of shakari yet bring on the crawdads!!!!! and the piri piri!!!!!! nyuma choma,kachimbali, Dam I miss Africa. 40 more days!!!!!!!!!!

Just had to comment on items for the discerning palate. During my career I have eaten a considerable amount of "food stuffs" native to the location in which we were operating. to my credit, I never puked in front of an indigenous person...below is a short list of items I do not remember with fondness and they are the reason you could not get me to put one of those grubs in my mouth!

Items for discriminating palates:
various snakes, particularly SEA cobra
grubs of asia, south america, north africa and the good ole' US of A.
monkey...yes, the brains...
goat from south america...indian dish, eyes, tongue, kidneys, brain, balls and pecker are all delicacies.
cane rat
hedgehog
baluts
seafood of various makes and models
but the most disgusting thing ever was the liver from an iguana lizard.

Hail the bacon cheeseburger!

quote:

Originally posted by shakari:

quote:

Originally posted by dogcat:
If you roast them, and eat the insides - what is the difference between eating these caterpillars and eating a crawdad?

What's a crawdad?..... is it the same as a crayfish?

Yes. Much like a sweater is the same as a jumper.

Mopane worms. Delicious!

I'll eat weird stuff. No problem. "When in Rome" and all that. Sure. But I have one simple rule when it comes to eating creatures:

If flies without feathers, swims without fins, walks with more than four legs, or just lays there and squirms, KILL IT WITH FIRE!!!

ChetNC: Right on!

I love eating weird different critters. Somehow though, those big ol fat things look like they'd harbor some sort of parasite.

Seriously, even if it tasted like shit, who cares? You can get rid of that easy enough. Some tiny evil little parasite is something else!

Armbar.

Quite tasty and they pick them from the Mopane Trees twice a year! A delicacy! No tiny little parasites in them worms!

quote:

Originally posted by armbar:
I love eating weird different critters. Somehow though, those big ol fat things look like they'd harbor some sort of parasite.

Seriously, even if it tasted like shit, who cares? You can get rid of that easy enough. Some tiny evil little parasite is something else!

Armbar.

Those big ol fat things LOOK like the fuckin' parasite let alone look like they harbour a parasite.

I'd be delighted to scoff a bucket of crawdads or oysters anytime though! - Esp with a bit of hot sauce and/or garlic and a nice glass or something cold.

quote:

Originally posted by shakari:
They get called a variety of names in different places and are often found in rotten tree trunks. Notably in acacia tortillis.

Often called mopane worms or mabunga grubs,

Steve, they are most definitely not Mopane worms, Mopane worms gets harvested from the Mopane trees.

Mate,

I might not have explained myself very well...... but that's basically what I said. Mopane worms live on mopane trees and mabunga grubs live in the rotten trunks. Notably acacia tortillis..... and IMO both taste like shit.

The ones in the pic look to me like mabunga grubs whereas the mopane worms are as per the link I posted. Here it is again.

http://www.scienceinafrica.co....5/january/mopane.htm

Steve: You have to properly prepare them first by removing the gut. Granted, it's an acquired taste , but they are 60% protein and have significant amounts of phosphorus, iron and calcium. Think mopane worm stew , or sundried mopane worms, fried mopane worms, deep fried mopane worms, etc. etc. with tomatoe, chilli, cheese or peanut sauce with a cold brew!

They look like Cerambycid or long-horn beetle larvae. The adults of some species can have quite nasty sets of chompers on them too and can bite back!

Anything else on the menu?!

OK! I lived in the Alaska bush for 22 years. You talk about eating weird stuff. how about pickled moose nose?, "Stinky heads" (fermented salmon heads). Nothing that was edible gets by an Eskimo. The fat pad behind the salmon's eye? Raw salmon dipped in seal oil? F----'n yum!!!!

Mark

Anything else? Sure.

Just my opinion, but we really don't cross the threshold of the truly weird until you move from eating the alive or recently alive to eating stuff where the growth or decomposition process has been harnessed to produce a particularly nasty result. The Asians pretty much have the market cornered on this stuff.
1000 Year Old Egg:

Balut:

h/t Marshall Astor


'Course, I tried this kinda stuff back in my drinking days. Today, a sober mind prevails.

quote:

Originally posted by BigB:
I ate some Mopane worms at the Victoris Falls Safari Lodge Restaurant. They looked similar but these are bigger than the ones I had.

Not bad tasting, but not something to go looking for.

BigB

the ones i had the Boma resturant at Vic Falls Safari Lodge had been pan fried with a little garlic and salt and very litle oil. tasted better than the Sudza(sp?) beer they gave you to sample. i didn't much like having to strain beer through my teeth to get out the particles. hell, they even gave me a certificate proving i ate some of the little devils- i still got it in a scrapbook.

I see a bloke on T.V. named Bear Grylls also eats the above mentioned "delicacies" the expression on his face says it all. I'll stick to my 1" Kudu steak on an open fire. I'll be sure to leave the 'delicacies' for the camp staff! Balls and all.