Witchetty Grubs

witchetty grubs regarded as a delicacy by many inhabitants of Australia, past and present, are the larvae of various moths and cockchafers. The correct spelling is witjuti, and the term is properly reserved for the larvae of a large moth of the genus Xyleutes; but the Cribbs (1975) remark that it has come to be applied to any large white grub found in wood:

Presence of the grub could often be detected by a sawdust-like heap of excreta on the ground at the bottom of a gum tree. The hunter would then look for a hole about the size of a pea in the bark, chip it open with an axe and use a hook to extract the grub; a skilled hunter could remove the grub from its hole without damaging it and ‘spilling the gravy’. Witchetty grubs can be eaten raw or roasted. The one thing to remember is not to eat the head, so the grub is held by that end and the remainder is nipped off. The flavour is rich, reminiscent of nuts, the latter, we are told, being due to the partly digested wood present.