Caterpillar

Appears in
Oxford Companion to Food

By Alan Davidson

Published 2014

  • About

caterpillar a stage through which butterflies and moths pass in the process of metamorphosis. In the whole category of insects as food, caterpillars are moderately prominent, partly because they are easy to catch and partly because the larger caterpillars at least are nutritious and contain enough fat to make them tasty morsels. Examples of the consumption of caterpillars could be quoted from many parts of the world. One which is well known because it has achieved a certain totemic significance for modern Australians (and was always important in this respect for the Aboriginals) is the witchetty grub (grub being a term which is often synonymous with caterpillar).