As the title of this column states, I limit my topics and musings to items and proceedings that are natural in scope. With only a few exceptions, subjects have always been about organics whether a process or an end result. This column will not be an exception. If you are at all squeamish-put the paper down now-and do not learn about a completely organic food-insects.

To most people that are omnivorous or the select few that are herbivorous, the idea of eating insects or being entomophagous, is very off-beat at best or repulsive at worst. Yet to many of these same people, eating other invertebrate creatures, such as lobsters, snails, crayfish and oysters is not only de rigueur but it is also considered a big ticket delicacy. The taboo against eating insects was probably started by European colonists that settled in the north eastern part of the country. In fact, they originally classified the New England lobster as an insect and refused to eat it. Fortunately, we have now regained our good senses and the lobster is considered a delicacy par excellence.

Old journals created in the “wild west” are replete with tales of the Paiute Indians in the Owens Valley harvesting insects as food. The most heavily consumed and gathered insects were the larvae of the Pandora moth, grasshoppers and Mormon crickets. Pandora moth larvae are rather large caterpillars that feed on certain types of pine trees. They were gathered from the trunk of the trees or by trenches dug around the base of the tree where they were collected when they descended to pupate in the ground. So that you don’t think this was only a long ago practice, Fowler and Walter wrote a book “Harvesting Pandora moth larvae-etc.” about the practice happening as recently as 1985.

The closest contact that most of us have had with entomophagy is the once in a while chocolate covered ant, cricket or bee. This however, is certainly not the case in many other parts of the world, where insects are considered delicacies and are prized for their nutritional value.

Some historical accounts tell us of the grasshoppers and crickets that were collected from trenches dug into the ground that were roasted and ground with pine nuts, grass seeds and berries to be made into cakes and stored after sun-drying. These were called “desert fruitcakes”.

In East Asia, insect consumption is still a very common practice and the most well-known insect eaten is the pupae of the silkworm, which is also exported to the United States. In China, the pupae are cooked immediately after the silk is unraveled so as to not waste the fresh taste of the pupae.

In Australia, many restaurants today feature insects which have been gathered from around the country where they are considered local delicacies. The most featured insect is the black honey ant which has an enlarged body the size of a grape and filled with nectar. Also currently served in restaurants are “Witchetty” grubs which refers to larvae of the Cossid moth, the giant ghost moth and the longicorn beetle. These entrepreneurs are not only trying to cash in on favored delicacies from around the country, but are also presenting new under-utilized sources of protein.

As an example of this high protein, consider that ants contain over 48 percent, termites over 58 percent and caterpillars over 52 percent.

Now that I have aroused your piquant interest in insects, the next time you see an ant or a moth in your home, you know what to do.

Today’s column brought to you by Sizemore’s Hardware, Pineville, Ky.