🦗 Survival entomophagy

Nutritional value, risks, and foraging yield of the best-documented edible insects — to help you decide which are worth the effort and which to avoid.

★ Termites and mopane caterpillars exceed 30 mg of iron/100 g — more than black pudding.

★ All edible insects share the same risk: a cross-allergy with shellfish due to chitin.

★ An emergence of periodical cicadas offers the highest foraging yield in the table: pounds gathered in just a few hours.

★ Mealworms and palm weevil grubs exceed 30 g of fat/100 g — almost as energy-dense as a handful of nuts.

18 rows

Energy : dried/roasted unless specified otherwise — higher is better.

Superworm (Zophobas) ≈

480 kcal/100g

Red palm weevil grub ≈

480 kcal/100g

House cricket ≈

475 kcal/100g

Red wood ant ≈

470 kcal/100g

Caterpillar (mopane worm) ≈

470 kcal/100g

Mealworm (larva) ≈

460 kcal/100g

Migratory locust ≈

430 kcal/100g

Great green bush-cricket ≈

400 kcal/100g

Termite (worker) ≈

350 kcal/100g

Rhinoceros beetle grub ≈

350 kcal/100g

Longhorn beetle larva ≈

300 kcal/100g

Wood cockroach ≈

300 kcal/100g

Wasp larva ≈

240 kcal/100g

Bee larva ≈

230 kcal/100g

Cockchafer grub ≈

200 kcal/100g

Cicada ≈

200 kcal/100g

Weaver ant (eggs/larvae) ≈

170 kcal/100g

Giant water bug ≈

170 kcal/100g

Sources (2)

Other numbers

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