Native American Foods: Technology and Food Sources: Insects

A major source of protein, insects were used in varying degrees by all tribes. Enjoyed as a delicacy as boiled or roasted snacks and stews, many insects were rich in flavor and desirable fats. In regions such as coastal California, where large and small game were sparse, insects were staple foods. Insects consumed included caterpillars, grasshoppers, maggots, wasps, ants, bee larvae, and beetles. Earthworms, not insects but annelids, were eaten as well. Insects sometimes were hunted. Grasshoppers were trapped in “surrounds” as were the Plains buffalo. Other insects were forced from trees with smoke. The sweet secretions of aphids (collected by rinsing them from leaves) were made into a honey-like drink.