Edible Beetles (Coleoptera) from Northern Thailand

8 Pages·1999·7.1 MB·English

by  Utsunomiya, Y

Elyt1・a,To;kyo,27(1):191-198,May15,1999
EdibleBeetles(Coleoptera) fromNorthernThailand
Yuka UTSUNOMIYA
GraduateSchoolofHomeEconomics,0tsumaWomen'sUniversity,
12Sanbancho,Chiyoda-ku,Tokyo,102-8357Japan
and
Kimio MASUMOT0
InstituteofHumanLivingSciences,0tsumaWomen'sUniversity,
12Sanbancho,Chiyoda-ku,Tokyo,102-8357Japan
Abstract EdiblebeetlesfromnorthernThailandaredealtwith.Ofmorethan t50
speciesofedibleinsectsco1lecte about100belongtotheorderColeoptera,ofwhichfive
familiesand70specieshavebeenspecificallydetermined.Currentinsect-eatingbehaviour
ofvillagerswasinvestigatedbyusingaquestionnairesurveyinBanAngkhai,ChiangMal
provjnceinNovember1998.Approximately15differentgroupsofinsectswereeatenby
thevj11agers,and6groupsofthemwerebeetles.Reasonsforeatinginsectswere“tasty”,
“goodforasidedish”,“asaseasoning”,etc.Theyprepareandcookbeetlesbeforeeating,
thoughtheyeatweevilsraw.Insect-eatinghasobviouslydeclinedduetochangesinrecent
dietaryhabitsinthatvillage.
Introduction
Thehabitofinsect-eatinghasbeenknownsinceprehistorictimes,andisstillpop-
ular insuchareasasSoutheastAsia,CentralandSouthAmerica,andOceania.Local
peopleutilizeinsectsasanutritiousfoe(i,andsometimesasseasoning,notonlyinthe
jmagina1stagebutalsoinpupaeandlarvae. Itisalsoafactthatthishabithasrecently
declinedduetochangesindietaryhabits,mainlycausedbyeconomicdevelopment.
Fromalongtermviewpoint,understandingtheinsect-eatinghabitisverysignificantin
majntajningatraditionalculture.Furthermore,studiesofedibleinsectscouldbeakey
solutiontofoodresourceproblemsinthefuture.
wehavebeenconductingresearchesonthebeetlefaunaofnorthernThailand for
thelasttenyearsandbecameinterestedinseeingthatthelocalpeopleuseavarietyOf
insects,includingmanyColeoptera,as foodmaterials.Thisencouragedustostartan
on-goingstudyofinsect-eatinginthearea.
l92 YukaUTsU1、、'oMIYAandKimioMAsUMoTo
1. Materialsand Method
In1997westartedacontinuingsurveyoftheinsect-eatinghabitandcollected
specimensactuallyservedasfoodinnorthernThailand(Fig.1).
Wecollectedspecimensoftheinsectgroupswehadobservedbeingeaten from
fieldsinChiangMalandMaeHongSonProvinces,andconfirmedwithvillagersif
thesewerewhat theyactuallyate.WealsopurchasedinsectsfrommarketsinChiang
MalCity,FangDistrict,Lamphun-LamphangPass,etc.Thespecimenscollectedwere
carefullydeterminedbyourselves(Scarabaeidae,Laparosticti)andspecialistsofeach
taxonomicgroup.
//
Laos
Mae flong Son Prov.
()Ban Angkhai
eh'al1g Mal Prov.
Fig. 1. MapofnorthernThailand
EdibleBeetlesfromNorthernThailand 193
Weobserved theinsect-eatingbehaviourofvillagersinBanAngkhai,Samoeng
District,ChiangMalProvinceandof thepeopleinlocal restaurantsinChiangMal
City. Inadditionweinvestigatedcurrent insect-eatingbehaviourbyusingaquestion-
nairesurveyof thevillagers(63persons: approximately1/3ofinhabitants) ofBan
AngkhaiinNovember1998.Theanswersreceivedwereanalyzedbyutilizingstandard
socialsciencemethodologies.
11. Results
A. Determinationofediblebeetles
Wehavecollectedmorethan t50speciesofedibleinsectsduringthelast three
years.0ftheseabout100speciesbelongtotheorderColeoptera,andfivefamiliesand
70speciesofbeetleshavebeenspecificallydetermined(Tablet) inthecourseofthis
study.Thankstocooperationofseveralspecialists,thisresultisthemostdetailedever.
Inpreviousstudiesconcerningedibleinsects,notsomanyspecieshavebeenspecifi-
callyidentified.DeterminationofSoutheastAsianinsectsatthespecieslevel isvery
difficultduetothegreatdiversityofspecies,includingunknownones,distributedin
thearea.
Of thefortyspeciesremainingundetermined,themajoritybelongtotheScara-
baeidae(Pleurosticti). A number of new speciesare included. Thesewill bemade
knowninpapers inthefuturebyeachspecialist.Specimensofordersother thanthe
Coleopterawerealsosent tospecialistsfordetermination,andtheresultswillbere-
portedelsewhere.
B. Resultsfromthequestionnaire
1) Insectscurrentlyeatenbyvillagers
Whatkindsofinsectsdothevillagerscurrently(duringtheseyears)eat?
“Dynastidbeetles(image)”,“ants”,and“bees”arethetopthreecategories,eaten
by92.1%,90.5%and88.9%ofvillagers,respectively(Table2).Approximately15dif-
ferentgroupsofinsectswereeatenbyvillagers,andsixofthesewerevariousgroups
ofbeetles.
2) Insectsformerlyeatenbyvillagers
Whatkindsofinsectsdidthevillagerseatinthepast?
“Dungbeetles”rank inthefirstplaceincluding34.9%ofrespondents.“Insectsin
water(divingbeetles,etc.)”ranksecondat31.7%andfollowedby“cicadas(28.6%)”
(Table3).“Dynastidbeetles”,“weevils”and“silkworms”sharedthe4thplace.
3) Reasonsofeatinginsects
WhydothepeopleofBanAngkhaieatinsects?
“Tasty”wasthecommonestreasongivenwithcloseto90%(Table4).“Goodfor
asidedish”ranksthesecond, followedby“asaseasoning”.“Noothernutritious food
fromnature”ranksthe7thandincludedonly11.7%ofreplies.
194 YukaUTsUNoMIYA and Kimio MAsUMoTo
Table 1. EdiblebeetlesfromnorthernThailand
FamilyDytiscidae
Cy lsfe''f加1baf1ls(FABRICIUs) C「''lpllncfaf1lsaslaflcusSHARP
FamilyScarabaeidae
Laparosticiti
Heliocoprisbucep11altls(FABR1c1Us) Me1o1ont1/amalaccenslsMOSER
Cat/ta,・s加sf)1',・111ane,IsisLANsBERGE Meglsfop/yffaa'ld''ewesfMOSF_R
Cmo1ossusLINNE Sop11''opsfo(veatils(MOSER)
Cop''Ispit'lc「ll/afllsWIEDEMANN S.pa1lCSIeOfSaFREY
Cfu1cicepsFELscHE S.1'ottl'ldico11isT.ITCH
C.lefex(FABRIcIUs) S.opacido1'sailsT.ITCH
C.ca''inicusGILLET S.smplexFREY
C s加'cusHoPE S e'cl'sitsT.IT01-l
Cc0'pll1e'1「11sGILLET ''ail川' 'tapa''villaMOSER
O. 0川fis fllc/1ffMAsUMoT0 a '111\'ad T ITC
0.subopacusARRow Ado''etilspachyso'natusH.KOBAYASHI
Onitlce11uscinct1ls(FABRlclUs) Alto'nalalaoticaFREY
Liatongus,'1/adanlistus(FABRlclUs) A.ligneaARROW
L t,'identatus(BoUcoMoNT) A.s/1a11icaARROW
L.venato1'(FABRlclUs) A.sotto''e1'FREY
. a m's(ARROW) a11g1l/1'copsARROW
Onthophagusbonasus(FABRIcIUs) A biltaudataFAIRMAIRE
0.1'ectec0''lluttisLANSBERGF_ A.Vlt111etaepAULIAN
0.sagitta'1tts(FABRICIUs) A.cltp'ipesHOPE
0.se11icuhls(FABRに1Us) Aa'1tlquaGYLLENHAL
0.0'ientalisHARoLD Minlelafer''e''01SABATINELL1
0.t1'itubet'WIEDEMANN M sC/1u1'e1SABATINELL1
0.taut'lntlsWHITE MlinpillgSABATINELLI
as. 0. ,・ofera,・filsHARoLD MI'1・1df・ floe,'cuffpen'11 o6scll'' T ITC
0. /l//-fdfpe'7nlsBOHEMAN Ole「''lc/Ila/Ia加ane7'sfsCHANG
Pleurosticti H.川gl1''cellist'tlb1'1co11isMOSER
llpa「0''llsg1'ad/leer川sARROW .cep/1a/0fes(BURMEISTER)
,/ofrupesgldeo11sla,nenslsMINIK 9.,o/o11r1/acasraneaZHANG
Lepidiotahause''iNoNFRIF_D P()1yp/1y/Iato11kinens1'sDEWAILLY
L bimaculata(SAUNDERS)
FamilyHydrophilidae
yd''0p/ll/llscavlsfe''mlsBEDEL .0加acetlsFABRICIUS
FamilyCerambycidae
DorysthenesbuqueliGILLET D.walke'i(WATERHOUSE)
Dg'anu1osus(THOMSON) Mac''otomafishe11(WATERHOUSE)
FamilyCureiionidae
Crytot1'achelttsbuquet1(GUERAN) C/onglmanus(FABRICIUS)
C rufope〔'tinipesbirmanicusFAUsT Rhynchop;1orusferruglneus(0LlvIER)
EdibleBeetlesfromNorthernThailand 195
Table 2. Insectscurrentlyeatenbyvillagers(M.A)
Insects Answers %
Dyna 'dbeeties(.jn-a9o) 58 921
Ants 57 905
Bees 56 889
GrasshoPPers 52 825
rms .jnsldebamboo(1arvaeofmoths) 52 825
Dun9beetles 49 778
Circk s 47 746
G.nntWaterbu9 47 746
C.ad 41 651
I ec .mwate「(e9・ ,iv.m9 etIe) 29 460
S9ra iedbeet1es(Pleuros'- ') 25 397
L vaeunder92und 9dynasti・dbeetIe 24 381
,
ev 22 349
SakW m(PuP 9 143
O e 7 111
Tota 575
Table 3. Insectsformerlyeatenbyvillagers(M.A)
Insects Answers %
Dungbeetles 22 34'9
Insectsinwater(e.g.,divingbeetle) 20 317
Cicadas 18 286
Dynastidbeetles(image) 12 190
Weevils 12 190
Silkworm(pupa) 12 190
Scarabaeidbeetles(Pleurosticti) 10 159
Larvaeunderground(e.g.,dynastidbeetles) 10 159
Ants 9 143
Giantwaterbug 9 143
Bees 8 127
Grasshoppers 7 111
Wormsfrominsidebamboo(larvaeofmoths) 5 79
Crickets 4 63
Molecrickets 1 16
Imagoesofdragonflies 1 16
Tota 160
C. Pr・,epalatio,1andcookingofediblebeetles
WeobservedcookingofedibleinsectsinBanAngkhai andalso inrestaurantsin
ChiangMalCity.
Villagersmostlycookbeetlesbeforeeating,thoughtheyeatweevilsraw.
196 YukaUTsUNoMIYAandKimioMAsUMoTo
Table 4. Reasonsforeatinginsects(M.A)
Reasons Answers %
Tasty 56 889
Goodforasidedish 38 603
Asaseasoning 20 317
Asarelish 17 270
Goodforsnack 14 222
Goodforhealth(substituteformedicine) 14 222
Noothernutritiousfoodfromnature 7 111
Total 166
Inthecaseofscarabaeidbeetles(Laparosticti), theyarekept in ricehulls fora
day toeliminatedirt and feces,and then killedinboilingwater.After draining the
water, theypluck offthewingsandlegs,andmixtheinsects intocurry insteadof
meat.
InthecaseofdynastidbeetlesandsomeotherPleurosticti,theyfirstkillthemin
boilingwater.Afterdrainingthewater,pluckingoffwingsandlegs, theyparchthem
with011.Otherbeetlessuchascerambycids,hydrophilidsanddytiscidsaretreatedin
thesameway.
Otherinsects,suchascicadas,grasshoppers,crickets,etc.,arefirstkilledinboil-
ingwater,thenfried.
111. Conclusion
We collectedmore than t50speciesofedibleinsects. Of theseabout 2/3are
Coleoptera.Fivefamiliesand70specieswerespecificallydetermined.
InthecasestudyatthevillageofBanAngkhai,thevillagersmostlyate“dynastid
beetles (image)”, “ants”,and“bees”. Approximately15different groupsof insects
wereeatenbythevillagers,6groupsofthembeingbeetles. Inthepast, thevillagers
atevariousothergroupsofinsects.Thereareobviousrecentchangesintheir foodse-
lectionbehaviour. Theycanobtainnutritiousfood(e.g.,chicken, fishes,snack foods,
etc.) throughmarketsmucheasier thaninthepast.Necessity foreatinginsectsmay
havebeenreducedby theireconomicdevelopment.Furthermore, obtaining natural
foodsourcesisbecomingmoredifficultbecauseofdeteriorationofnaturalenviron-
ment.Fromtheresponsesofyoungergeneration,wehavefoundthattheyeat fewerin-
sectsthanoldervillagers.
The villagersmostly cook insectsbeforeeating, though they eat weevils raw.
They firstkill thebeetles(exceptdungbeetles)inboilingwater.Afterpluckingoffthe
wingsandlegsanddrainingthewater, theyparchthemwithoiler frythem. In the
caseofscarabaeidbeetles(Laparosticti), theyprepareinamorecomplicatedway.A
stepisnecessary foreliminatingdirtand fecesbeforekillingthembyboilingwater.
EdibleBeetlesfromNorthernThailand 197
Webelievethat thecomplicatedprocedures forpreparationofdungbeetles for food
mayexplaintheirdecliningpopularity.
Weintendtocontinueresearchonedibleinsects,particularlytheColeoptera, in
greaterdetail,andcomparetheresultswithotherstudies innortheasternThailandin
thenearfuture.
Acknowledgment
Wewishtoexpressourcordial thankstothevillagersofBanAngkhai fortheir
cooperationinourresearch.ThanksarealsoduetoDr.KatsuraMoRIMoTo,Emeritus
Professor of KyushuUniversity,Dr. MasatakaSAT0,NagoyaWomens' University,
Messrs.KaoruWADA,TamaCity,Takeshi ITCH,NishinomiyaCity,ShigeoTsUYUK1,
ZushiCity,TatsuyaNIIsATo,Tokyo,TerutsuneABE,Tokyo,andHanmei HIRAsAwA,
Nagano Prof., for taking the troubleof determining the specimens. Appreciation
shouldbeexpressedtoDr.MasahiroSAKAI,EhimeUniversity,Dr.KazuyoshiKURosA,
Tokyo,Dr.YupaHANBooNsoNG,KhonKaenUniversity,Thailand,andDr.Masahiko
KUWAHARAandMakotoKIUcHI,theInstitutesofMinistryofAgriculture,Forestryand
Fisheries, for contributing thereferences concerning insect-eating in Thailand. We
thankDr.Shun-IchiUENo,NationalScienceMuseum(Nat.Hist),Tokyo, forhiscon-
stantguidanceinthecourseofthisstudy,andDr.RowanM.EMBERsoN,LincolnUni-
versity,NewZealan forreadingthroughthemanuscriptofthispaper.
要 約
宇都宮由佳・益本仁雄:北タイの食用中!、iについて. - l997年以来, 北タイで住民の食
習俗に関する調査と実際に食用にイnせられる昆虫について採集をおこなってきた. 150種以
上の食用昆虫が採集されたが, そのうちの5科70種の甲虫を種段階まで同定した. 一方, 食虫
習俗の現状について, 1998年11月にチェンマイ県アンカイ村でアンケート調査をおこなった.
村人は, およそl5辞の昆虫を食料にしていたが, そのうちの6辞は甲虫であった. 昆虫を食べ
る理由として, 「おぃしぃから」, 「おかずとして」, 「調味料として」 などがあげられた. ゾウ
ムシを除いて, 昆虫は食べる前に調理されていた. 食虫習俗は, 最近の食生活の変化のため,
明らかに減少しつつあることがわかった.
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Elyt,・a, nokyo,27(1):198,Mayl5,1999
Reviva1ofStrongyliumlnterruptum(Coleoptera,
Tenebrionidae,Strongyliini)
Kimio MASUMOT0
InstituteofHumanLivingSciences,0tsumaWomen'sUniversity,
12Sanbancho,Chiyoda-ku,Tokyo,102-8357Japan
Strongyliu,ninterruptu1r1wasdescribedbyBLAIR(1930) fromDarjeeling.Inhiscatalogue
oftheTenebrionidae(p911),GEBIEN(1943)regardeditasaformofS.simulatot DoHRN,1880,
from“Birma”.* ThroughthecourtesyofMr.MartinJ.D.BRENDELL,theNaturalHistoryMu-
seum, London, andDr. DariuszIwAN,MuseumandInstituteofZoology,PolishAcademyof
Sciences,Iwasabletoexaminethetypesofthetwospecies,andconcludedthatS. interruptu11t
isagoodspecies.
Stro'lgyliuntinterruptunlBLAIR,l930
St''o'lgyliu'ninto't'ttpttu11BLAIR,l930,Entomol mon.Mag.,London,66: l79.
Notes. Ascomparedwith‘S.'simulatol'DoHRN,St1o'ngyli1,lminte''ruptumBLAIRisobvi-
ouslyslenderer,withlargereyes(diatoneabout15timesthewidthofaneyediameterindorsal
view), pronotumsomewhat barrel-shapedandlacking themedial groove,andtheelytrasub-
cylindricalandmorefinelystriate.
*St''ongyliun1s加t11ato''DoHRN,1880,Stett ent.Ztg.,1880:373