Various cultures throughout Africa utilize insects for many things and have developed unique interactions with insects: as food sources, for sale or trade in markets, or for use in traditional practices and rituals, as ethnomedicine or as part of their traditional ecological knowledge. As food, also known as entomophagy, a variety of insects are collected as part of a protein rich source of nutrition for marginal communities. Entomophagy had been part of traditional culture throughout Africa, though this activity has been diminishing gradually with the influx of Western culture and market economies. Often the collection of insects for food has been the activity of children, both male and female.
Within Southern Africa different communities have established practices for regulating and maintaining their insect harvests. Some groups, through taboos, ritual, and hierarchical organizational structures acting as regulating bodies, have maintained their traditional practice for centuries. They monitor the development of certain caterpillar species' life cycles to ensure proper time frame for harvesting and sustainability.
Understanding the diversity of relationships to nature is a crucial aspect of fully grasping and contending with the challenges of modernity and ecology. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations report from January 2012, it has been recommended that insects be utilized both for human consumption as well as for animal feed. However, as the climate changes many agencies are reporting on the risk of the decline in insect populations within the larger ongoing phenomenon of biodiversity loss and how it may affect the world's ecology.
Southern Africa
Blouberg, Limpopo
Maize is a staple crop of Blouberg, Limpopo. Yet due to the processing methods of removing the germ and pericarp, maize is a poor source of protein which often requires supplementation. Within the Blouberg Region, Limpopo, there are some 30 species of insect which are considered edible, and of those, the caterpillar Hemijana variegata Rothschild (Lepidoptera: Eupterotidae) is considered a delicacy while being nutritionally sound. Depending on how it is prepared, the nutritional values of protein, carbohydrate, fat, and essential vitamins varies. According to B.A. Egan et al. (2014) the fortification of staple cereals with insects would positively affect the protein content of the community's diet, and should be promoted as a healthy alternative to beef.
Traditional preparation
Hemijana variegata Rothschild are sold in local markets in the village of Ga Manaka. In this market, the caterpillars are collected by locals in the surrounding forests near Blouberg Mountain and transported back for preparation. Local residents report it was important to wash them after collection. They would wash them three times and purge them, before boiling them in salty water for an hour. They are then sun dried until brittle and the hairs are "shaken off by 'winnowing' in a basket or bucket."
Nutrition
The Hemijana variegata has protein content that exceeds that of more common livestock such as cows or chickens when measured per gram. The energy, and protein content of the caterpillars which had been traditionally dried had been lower than that of oven based drying. The energy content of the caterpillars (552 kcal/100 g.) is greater than that of beef (112 to 115 kcal/100 g), goat meat (96.36 and 101.47 kcal/100 g), and chicken (144 kcal/100 g). The fat content is 20% which is higher than beef or chicken. The vitamin C content was measured at (14.15 mg/100 g.) compared to (30 mg/100 g) in peas and over (90 mg/100 g) in broccoli.