Eat Bugs Survival Tip
Many bugs are edible; however bugs are not
normally viewed as food in Western culture. Yet Non-western and
indigenous societies have always eaten bugs.
Military survival manuals indicate that insects are an ideal
food alternative. Nutritionists likewise report most bugs are
good for your health.
Rotting logs lying on the ground are excellent places to look for a
variety of insects including ants, termites, beetles, and grubs,
which are beetle larvae. Do not overlook insect nests on or in
the ground. Grassy areas, such as fields, are good areas to
search because the insects are easily seen. Stones, boards, or
other materials lying on the ground provide the insects with
good nesting sites. Check these sites. Insect larvae are also
edible. Insects such as beetles and grasshoppers that have a
hard outer shell will have parasites. Cook them before eating.
Remove any wings and barbed legs also. You can eat most insects
raw. The taste varies from one species to another. Wood grubs
are bland, while some species of ants store honey in their
bodies, giving them a sweet taste. You can grind a collection of
insects into a paste. You can mix them with edible
vegetation. You can cook them to improve their taste.
And there is arguably no more intimate way of getting to know
nature than by handling it with bare hands and even, yes, eating
it.
Most insects are edible. Open your mind and then your mouth will
open.
Worms
Worms (Annelidea) are an excellent protein source. Dig for them
in damp humus soil or watch for them on the ground after a rain.
After capturing them, drop them into clean, potable water for a
few minutes. The worms will naturally purge or wash themselves
out, after which you can eat them raw.
Reptiles
Reptiles are a good protein source and relatively easy to catch.
You should cook them, but in an emergency, you can eat them raw.
Their raw flesh may transmit parasites, but because reptiles are
cold-blooded, they do not carry the blood diseases of the
warm-blooded animals.
The box turtle is a commonly encountered turtle that you should
not eat. It feeds on poisonous mushrooms and may build up a
highly toxic poison in its flesh. Cooking does not destroy this
toxin. Avoid the hawksbill turtle, found in the Atlantic Ocean,
because of its poisonous thorax gland. Poisonous snakes,
alligators, crocodiles, and large sea turtles present obvious
hazards to the survivor.
Dandelions
Rank in the top 4 green vegetables in overall nutritional value.
Minnich, in "Gardening for Better Nutrition" ranks them, out of
all vegetables, including grains, seeds and greens, as tied for
9th best. According to these data, dandelions are nature's
richest green vegetable source of beta-carotene, from which
Vitamin A is created, and the third richest source of Vitamin A
of all foods, after cod-liver oil and beef liver! They also are
particularly rich in fiber, potassium, iron, calcium, magnesium,
phosphorus and the B vitamins, thiamine and riboflavin, and are
a good source of protein.
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