Tag Archives: insect

Daily Life, Laos

Coleopterist for an hour

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I have spent the last hour scouring the internet for information about the insect order Coleoptera, aka beetles, and specifically trying to identify this big guy. He was hanging out on our outdoor shoe rack this morning, ironically draping his antenna over a bottle of Off insect repellent.
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In my quest, I learned that beetles:
* constitute almost 25 percent of all life forms,
* live in every habitat except the open sea,
* comprise more species than any other order in the animal kingdom, and
* roamed the earth up to 318 million years ago!

People who study beetles are called coleopterists, which I have been for the last hour. Fascinating stuff. But really I just wanted to know what was lurking on my shoe rack and whether he would bite my face off if I got too close. There are several beetles with similar markings, but I think I can safely say this guy is a Batocera davidis. I couldn’t find any information about his inclination to attack or spray poisonous venom, so I’ll take that as a good sign.

I’m going to leave him alone, though.

Daily Life, Laos

Bug-a-licious

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Earlier this week, I was fortunate to get an email with those three little words that make my heart leap with joy and anticipation: “Food Festival Invitation.”

Woo hoo! I quickly skimmed over the list of local restaurants scheduled to participate in the cooking competition, but the words “free public sampling of dishes” were all I needed to mark my calendar.

One line in the invitation particularly caught my attention. Turns out this event was part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations’ Edible Insect Promotion Program. I guess I didn’t realize that ALL the free samples would contain insects.

Tony and I arrived at the convention center with our friend Nikki (the new VIS counselor) shortly after the event’s 4:00 start time on Saturday. Unfortunately, the hungry throngs had already snatched up all the paper plates and gorged on most of the samples. Chefs frantically tried to whip up new batches of their larvae eggrolls, cricket fried rice and sushi, insect laap, grub tacos, and other delicacies.

I struggled to snap a few photos in the jostling crowd.
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Here, a judge tastes one of the entries.
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Cooks prepare some cricket fried rice.
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If you want to make it at home, don’t forget your bucket-o-crickets.
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Don’t you think the tomato rosette lends a touch of elegance?
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Mmmm … nothin’ like a big pile of slimy larvae on a rainy day.
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When I saw our lovely Lao friends, Addie and Lae, relishing a selection of invertebrate treats, well, there was no avoiding it. I was just going to have to eat some bugs. People all over the world eat insects every day as a cheap source of protein, so it seems ridiculous and immature to make a spectacle out of it … and yet …

Lae encouraged me to try the cricket canape offered by one of our favorite restaurants, Lao Garden. The cricket sat on a little bed of grassy bits, and the cook poured a spoonful of sauce overtop.
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After a few moments of requisite drama, I popped the snack into my mouth. The sweet-and-tangy flavor was surprisingly pleasing, and I have to admit enjoying the crickety crunch.
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Lae preferred the cricket sushi.
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Next up: grubs. Addie called them “baby bees” and tried to convince me that they tasted like potatoes.
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For some reason, I was way less eager to sample the grubs.
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Potatoes? Whatevs. Grubs taste just exactly like what you think they’re gonna taste like. I don’t recommend them plain. I wish I’d tried the grub taco instead, but they were all gone before I had a chance.

Final verdict: China’s sea cucumber continues to hold the coveted title, “Nastiest Creature I’ve Consumed,” but that grub offered up some stiff competition. As for the cricket, saep lai lai!

Daily Life, Laos

Lovin’ the Lantern Bug

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Sitting under my mango tree a few weeks ago, I looked up to see this guy on a branch. I ran inside to get my camera, shrieking for Tony the whole time.
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I had to balance with one foot on my patio table and one foot braced against the tree to get a close enough shot, and I was scared the whole time that the bizarre bug would suddenly attack my face or blast venom from its freaky nose. Fortunately, it just sat there. Later that evening it was gone, and we’ve never seen it or any of its ilk again.

I’ve been trying to find out the name of that strange yard guest, but when I did a Google image search of “laos insects,” the results featured mainly edible market fare. Today, I gave it another whirl. I entered “Laos insect long nose.” Score!
Turns out our little visitor is known as Pyrops candelaria, although his friends call him Lantern Bug.

Here’s some info from the Lantern Bug website:

The lantern bug can grow from 1.5 to 3 inches long from head to thorax and has a wingspan of about 2 to 2.5 inches wide, depending on the species. It has a long beak, called its rostrum, which it uses to suck the juice out flowers and fruits. The lantern bug is an herbivore. Lantern bugs are called thus because of their bright usually contrasting colors. Their actual coloring varies for each genus but the colors are bright enough for them to earn their name, despite the fact that no lantern bug actually emits any light at all.