Comparative ethnoentomology of edible stinkbugs in southern Africa and sustainable management considerations

Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine

Rob Toms¹  Ed Tadeusz Fernando Witkowski²  Catherine Maria Dzerefos² 

[1] Ditsong National Museum of Natural History, P. O. Box, 413, Pretoria, 0001, South Africa;University of the Witwatersrand, Restoration and Conservation Biology Research Group, School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, P. O. Wits, Johannesburg, 2050, South Africa

关键词: Traditional food;    Sustainable harvesting;    Ethnomedicine;    Entomophagy;    Edible insects;    Defence chemical;   

Others  :  862512
DOI  :  10.1186/1746-4269-9-20

 received in 2012-10-23, accepted in 2013-03-18,  发布年份 2013

【 摘 要 】

Insects, such as stinkbugs, are able to produce noxious defence chemicals to ward off predators, nevertheless, some ethnic groups have recipes to render them delicious. We provide an example of edible stinkbugs (Encosternum delegorguei) used by two locally separate ethnic groups in South Africa, the Vhavenda and Mapulana, with a third group, the Bolobedu using them for commercial purposes. Structured interview schedules and observations with 106 harvesters were conducted to determine differences in use, nomenclature and oral history, methods of collection and preparation as well as perceptions pertaining to availability. The stinkbugs’ foul defence chemical and flight response necessitates nocturnal harvesting when the insect is immobilised by cold. The defence chemical stains the skin and affects vision yet protective gear is not worn. Damage to host trees was recorded when harvesters poached from plantations or private land, whereas, in communal-lands, sustainable methods were preferred. The legitimisation of stinkbug harvesting and introduction of a collection funnel could reduce conflicts with managers of plantations and private land. Two methods to remove the defence chemical for increased palatability were used. Preparation methods differed in whether or not water was used and also whether the head was left intact or removed. Stinkbugs have numerous medicinal uses, in particular as a hangover cure. Awareness and optimal use of beneficial insects, such as stinkbugs, in rural areas could lead to a reconsideration of current environmental management strategies, where harvesters act as habitat stewards and clearing, grazing or burning indigenous vegetation is kept to a minimum.

【 授权许可】

   
2013 Dzerefos et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

【 图 表 】

【 参考文献 】

• [1]Posey DA: Topics and issues in ethnoentomology with some suggestions for the development of hypothesis-generation and testing in ethnobiology. J Ethnobiol 1986, 6:99-120.
• [2]Nonaka K: Ethnoentomology of the central Kalahari San. Afri Stud Monogr 1996, 22:29-46. 48
• [3]Chakravorty J, Ghosh S, Meyer-Rochow VB: Practices of entomophagy and entomotherapy by members of the Nyishi and Galo tribes, two ethnic groups of the state of Arunachal Pradesh (North-East India). J Ethnobiol Ethnomed 2011, 7:5. BioMed Central Full Text
• [4]Cherniack EP: Bugs as drugs. Insects: The “new” alternative medicine for the 21st century? Altern Med 2010, 15:124-135.
• [5]Durst PB, Johnson DV, Leslie RN, Shono K: Forest insects as food: Humans bite back. FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok; 2010. http://www.fao.org/docrep/012/i1380e/i1380e00.pdf webcite
• [6]van Huis A: Potential of insects as food and feed. Ann Rev Entmol 2013, 58:563-583.
• [7]Gondo T, Frost P, Kozanayi W, Stack J, Mushongahande M: Linking knowledge and practice: assessing options for sustainable use of mopane worms in southern Zimbabwe. J Sustain Dev Afr 2010, 12:127-145.
• [8]van Huis A: Insects as food in sub-Saharan Africa. Insect Sci Appl 2003, 23:163-185.
• [9]Makuku SJ: Community approaches in managing common property forest resources: the case study of Norumedzo community in Bikita. In Proceedings of an International Symposium on Ecology and management of indigenous forests in southern Africa: 27–29 July 1992; Victoria Falls. Edited by Piearce GD, Gumbo DJ. Zimbabwe Forestry Commission: SAREC; 1993:86-96.
• [10]Harris FMA, Salisu M: Relying on nature: Wild foods in northern Nigeria. Ambio 2010, 32:24-29.
• [11]Twine WD, Moshe T, Netshiluvhi TR, Siphugu V: Consumption and direct-use values of savanna bio-resources used by rural households in Mametja, a semi-arid area of Limpopo Province, South Africa. S Afri J Sci 2003, 99:467-473.
• [12]Shackleton CM, Shackleton SE, Netshiluvhi TR, Geach BS, Balance A, Fairbanks DHK: Use patterns and value of savanna resources in three rural villages in South Africa. Econ Bot 2002, 56:130-146.
• [13]Cuthbertson A: Note on the swarming of Pentatomid bugs. The Southern Rhodesia Native Affairs Department Annual 1937, 12:37-38.
• [14]Gardiner AJ, Gardiner EM: Edible insects. Part 1. Preparation of species from Mushumbi pools, Zimbabwe. Afr Entomol 2003, 11:125-127.
• [15]van der Waal BCW: Ethnobiology and uses of grasshoppers in Venda, Northern Province, South Africa. S Afr J Ethnol 1999, 22:103-109.
• [16]Teffo LS, Toms RB, Eloff JN: Preliminary data on the nutritional composition of the edible stinkbug, Encosternum delegorguei Spinola, consumed in Limpopo Province, South Africa. S Afr J Sci 2007, 103:434-436.
• [17]Faure JC: Pentatomid bugs as human food. J Entomol Soc South Afr 1944, 8:110-114.
• [18]Maredza C: Harurwa. Harare: Longman; 1987.
• [19]Dudley CO: Management of biodiversity in protected areas of Malawi. Zomba, Malawi: National Herbarium and Botanic Gardens; 2004. Document Reference PN93-22082-06-208 and PN 00.2047.9-002.13
• [20]Meyer-Rochow VB, Nonaka K: More feared than revered: Insects and their impacts on human societies (with some specific data on the importance of entomophagy in a Laotian Setting). Entomol Heute 2008, 20:3-25.
• [21]Melo V, Chávez A, Chávez M, Casilas R, Maass C: Atizies taxcoensisA andEuchistus sufultusS, jumil bugs: Nutraceutic foodstuff for iodine deficiency. In Proceedings of the Eighth International Symposium on Metal Ions in Biology and Medicine: 18–22 May 2004. Edited by Cser MA, Lászlá IS, Etienne JC, Maynard Y, Centeno JA, Khassanova L, Collery P. Budapest; 2004:324-329. http://books.google.fr/books/about/Metal_Ions_in_Biology_and_Medicine.html?hl=fr&id=ob-YHgn8PXgC webcite
• [22]Blöte HC: On some Oncomerini from New Guinea (Heteroptera, Pentatomidae). Zool Meded 1952, 31:251-257.
• [23]Shackleton SE, Dzerefos CM, Shackleton CM, Mathabela FR: Use and trading of wild edible herbs in the central lowveld savanna region, South Africa. Econ Bot 1998, 52:251-259.
• [24]Dzerefos CM, Witkowski ETF, Toms R: Life-history traits of the edible stinkbug, Encosternum delegorguei (Hem., Tessaratomidae), a traditional food in southern Africa. J Appl Entomol 2009, 133:749-759.
• [25]van Rooyen N, Bredenkamp G: Sour lowveld bushveld. In Vegetation of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland. Edited by Low AB, Rebelo AG. Pretoria: Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism; 1996:28.
• [26]Dovie DBK, Witkowski ETF, Shackleton CM: Monetary valuation of livelihoods for understanding the composition and complexity of rural households. Agric. Hum. Values 2005, 22:87-103.
• [27]Statistics South Africa: Quarterly Labour Force Survey. Pretoria: Pretoria; 2011.
• [28]Kaschula SA, Twine WE, Scholes MC: Coppice harvesting of fuelwood species on a South African common: Utilizing scientific and indigenous knowledge in community based natural resource management. Hum Ecol 2005, 33:387-418.
• [29]Hunter LM, Twine W, Patterson L: “Locusts are now our beef”: Adult mortality and household dietary use of local environmental resources in rural South Africa. Scand J Publ Health 2007, 35:165-174.
• [30]van der Waal BCW: Fundudzi, a unique, sacred and unknown South African lake. S Afr J Aquat Sci 1997, 23:42-55.
• [31]Jensen Krige E, Krige JD: The realm of a rain-queen: A study of the pattern of Lovedu society. London: Oxford University Press; 1943.
• [32]Ashforth A: Witchcraft, violence, and democracy in South Africa. Chicago: University of Chicago Press; 2005.
• [33]Mander M, Ntuli L, Diederichs N, Mavundla K: Economics of the traditional medicine trade in South Africa. South African Health Review; 2007. http://www.hst.org.za/uploads/files/chap13_07.pdf webcite
• [34]Statsoft I: Statistica. Version 6. Tulsa: Statsoft; 2004.
• [35]De Foliart GR: Edible insects as minilivestock. Biodiverse. Conserve 1995, 4:306-321.
• [36]Samways MJ: Insect diversity conservation: Global change and synergistic impacts. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press; 2005.
• [37]Hoff A: The water Snake of the Khoekhoen and /Xam. S Afr Archaeol Bull 1997, 52:21-37.
• [38]Anoliefo GO, Isikhuemhen OS, Ochije NR: Environmental implications of the erosion of cultural taboo practices in Awka-South local government area of Anambra State, Nigeria: 1. Forests, trees and water resource preservation. J Agric Environ Ethics 1996, 6:281-296.
• [39]Mutenje MJ, Ortmann GF, Ferrer SRD: Management of non-timber forestry products extraction: Local institutions, ecological knowledge and market structure in South-Eastern Zimbabwe. Ecol Econ 2011, 70:454-461.
• [40]Mapendembe A: Jiri forest conservation in Nerumedzo, Bikita district, Zimbabwe. In Forests in the Global Balance-Changing Paradigms Edited by Mery G, Alfaro R, Kanninen M, Lobovikov M. 2005, 87. www.iufro.org/download/file/4239/4451/wfse-archie-artic-05_pdf/ webcite
• [41]Kinyuru JN, Kenji GM, Njoroge SM, Ayieko M: Effect of processing methods on the in vitro protein digestibility and vitamin content of edible winged termite (Macrotermes subhylanus) and grasshopper (Ruspolia differens). Food Bioprocess Technol 2010, 3:778-782.
• [42]Janaiah C, Rao PS, Chari N, Reddy PV, Rao YVS: Chemical composition of the scent glands of adults and nymphs of the bug Tessaratoma javanica Thunberg. Indian J Exp Biol 1979, 17:1233-1235.
• [43]Letsela T, Witkowski ETF, Balkwill K: Direct use values of communal resources in Bokong and Tsehlanyane in Lesotho: whither the commons? Int J Sustain Dev World Ecol 2002, 9:351-368.
• [44]Berkes F: Community conserved areas: Policy issues in historic and contemporary context. Conserv Lett 2009, 2:19-24.
• [45]Pemberton RW: The revival of rice-field grasshoppers as a human food in South Korea. Pan-Pac Entomol 1994, 70:323-327.