More than two billion people eat insects as a regular part of their diet, and the practice spans nearly every inhabited continent. In the United States, cricket flour protein bars and mealworm snacks have moved from novelty shelves into mainstream grocery aisles, reflecting a shift that food scientists have tracked for years. Understanding the different types of insects that people eat reveals as much about culture and geography as it does about nutrition.
This list covers 20 insects eaten around the world, from backyard staples like crickets and mealworms to regional specialties such as witchetty grubs and sago grubs. Each one carries its own preparation methods, flavor profile, and place in local food traditions.
1. Crickets
Crickets are the most widely farmed edible insect in North America, and the house cricket (Acheta domesticus) supplies most of the cricket flour sold in U.S. grocery stores and protein bars. According to Western Exterminator, crickets are prized for a mild, nutty flavor that blends easily into baked goods without overpowering other ingredients.
A three-ounce serving of crickets delivers roughly the same protein as a comparable portion of beef, along with iron, calcium, and B12. Companies across the American Midwest now raise crickets in climate-controlled facilities specifically for the growing snack-food market, a trend detailed by Trellis.
2. Grasshoppers
In Oaxaca, Mexico, toasted grasshoppers known as chapulines are sold by street vendors and served with lime, garlic, and chili. The species most often harvested is Sphenarium purpurascens, gathered from alfalfa and corn fields during specific harvest windows each year.
Chapulines have become a bridge food for American diners visiting Mexican markets or ordering at fusion restaurants, since the crunchy texture and citrus seasoning feel closer to a snack chip than an unfamiliar protein. Grasshoppers belong to the same order as many insects that eat plants, which is part of why they cluster in agricultural regions.
3. Mealworms
Mealworms are the larval stage of the darkling beetle (Tenebrio molitor), and they have become one of the easiest edible insects for home cooks to source in the U.S. because they are already sold as reptile and bird feed. Roasted mealworms take on a flavor often compared to popcorn or sunflower seeds.
Because mealworms are farmed at scale for the pet trade, the infrastructure for raising them as human food already exists, which has helped several American startups bring mealworm protein powder to market faster than other insect categories.
Pro Tip: Dry-roasting insects like mealworms and crickets at a low oven temperature (around 300°F) for 15-20 minutes brings out a nuttier flavor and improves shelf life for home storage.
4. Ants
Leafcutter ants (Atta mexicana) are harvested in parts of Mexico and Colombia, where the large-bodied queen ants, called hormigas culonas, are toasted and sold as a delicacy. Weaver ants (Oecophylla smaragdina) are used across Southeast Asia in salads and as a sour, citrusy garnish because of the formic acid in their bodies.
Honeypot ants (Myrmecocystus mexicanus), found in the deserts of the American Southwest, store liquid sugar in swollen abdomens and have long been eaten by Indigenous communities in Arizona and New Mexico as a natural sweet. Readers curious about aggressive foraging species can compare notes with this guide to ants that bite.
5. Termites
Termites are a seasonal food source across Central Africa, where swarms such as Macrotermes bellicosus emerge after the first heavy rains and are collected by the handful before being fried or roasted. The insects are rich in fat, which made them historically valuable during lean agricultural seasons.
Termite feeding habits also make them a familiar name in North American pest-control conversations, since many of the same wood-eating species that cause structural damage are the ones harvested for food elsewhere. For more on that overlap, see this breakdown of insects that eat wood.
6. Silkworms
Silkworm pupae (Bombyx mori) are a byproduct of the silk industry, since the cocoons are unwound for thread before the pupae inside are boiled, seasoned, and sold as street food. In South Korea, the dish is known as beondegi and is sold from carts in cans or paper cups near markets and subway stations.
Because silkworms complete a full transformation from egg to moth, they are frequently cited in discussions of insects that morph through complete metamorphosis. The pupae stage, harvested after silk extraction, is the one most commonly eaten.
7. Beetles
Beetles make up the largest single group of edible insects worldwide, accounting for nearly a third of all documented insect species eaten by humans, according to research compiled by National Geographic. Rhinoceros beetle larvae (Oryctes rhinoceros) are grilled or fried across parts of Southeast Asia and are valued for a texture similar to fatty pork.
Long-horned beetle grubs are also harvested from rotting logs in Latin America and Africa, often as a byproduct of clearing dead wood for firewood or farmland. The sheer diversity within Coleoptera means flavor and texture vary enormously between species.
8. Bee Larvae
Bee larvae, harvested from honeybee (Apis mellifera) hives, are a traditional food in parts of Southeast Asia, Mexico, and Australia, often collected alongside the honey itself during hive maintenance. The larvae have a mild, slightly sweet taste and a soft, custard-like texture when lightly cooked.
Because bees are also known for their sting rather than their taste in most American households, bee larvae remain one of the more unfamiliar entries on this list domestically. Readers interested in the defensive side of these insects can check this guide to insects that sting.
9. Wasp Larvae
In Japan, hachinoko refers to the larvae of ground-nesting wasps, often simmered in soy sauce and sugar until they take on a texture similar to soft-shelled edamame. The dish is associated with mountain regions such as Nagano, where wasp hunting is a seasonal autumn activity.
Wasp larvae are typically harvested before the insects mature into stinging adults, which avoids the defensive behavior that makes adult wasps risky to collect. The distinction between larvae and adult stages matters here, since only the larval form is commonly eaten.
10. Cicadas
Periodical cicadas (Magicicada septendecim) emerge in massive broods across the eastern United States, including Ohio, on 13- or 17-year cycles, and foragers have started collecting the soft-shelled nymphs just after they emerge from the ground. Newly molted cicadas are often compared to shrimp or asparagus in flavor once fried.
Because cicada broods are loud and highly visible during emergence years, they are also a frequent subject in guides to insects that make noise. Ohio residents who track brood emergences have a useful reference in this list of insects in Ohio.
11. Caterpillars
The maguey worm (Aegiale hesperiaris), a caterpillar that feeds on agave plants in central Mexico, is dried and sometimes ground into the salt mixture served alongside mezcal. Its earthy, slightly buttery flavor has made it one of the more recognizable insect foods among American travelers to Oaxaca and Guanajuato.
Caterpillars generally have soft bodies and high fat content, which makes them calorie-dense compared to many other edible insects. Several species also go through the same complete transformation covered in the earlier discussion of insects that morph.
12. Scorpions
Skewered scorpions, often the Asian forest scorpion (Heterometrus species), are a well-known street food in Beijing’s Wangfujing night market, where vendors deep-fry them whole until the exoskeleton turns crisp. The venom is destroyed by cooking, leaving a flavor closer to soft-shell crab.
Scorpions are arachnids rather than true insects, but they are frequently grouped with edible insect lists because they are harvested and prepared the same way. Their sting apparatus is neutralized entirely during the frying process, which is why vendors handle them without gloves once cooked.
13. Locusts
Desert locusts (Schistocerca gregaria) are eaten across parts of the Middle East and Africa, particularly during swarm years when the insects appear in numbers large enough to strip entire fields of crops. Harvesting locusts during outbreaks turns a agricultural disaster into a temporary food source for affected communities.
Locusts are close relatives of grasshoppers, and the same swarming behavior that makes them a food source also makes them one of the most destructive insects that eat plants on record. Texas has experienced periodic grasshopper and locust outbreaks that mirror this dynamic on a smaller scale, as covered in this guide to insects in Texas.
14. Stink Bugs
In Taxco, Mexico, the jumil (Atizies taxcoensis) is a type of stink bug gathered each November and eaten live, wrapped in a tortilla with salsa, or ground into a paste. Locals describe the flavor as cinnamon-like, a trait tied to the aldehydes the insect releases as a defense mechanism.
An annual jumil festival in Taxco draws thousands of visitors who compete to eat the most insects, making it one of the more theatrical entries in Mexican food tradition. The same defensive chemical that gives stink bugs their name is what produces the distinctive taste locals prize.
15. Water Bugs
The giant water bug (Lethocerus indicus) is a common ingredient in Thai cuisine, where it is ground into nam prik maeng da, a pungent chili paste served with rice and vegetables. The insect’s aroma, often described as similar to blue cheese or gorgonzola, is concentrated in glands used to produce pheromones.
Because giant water bugs spend most of their life submerged in ponds and rice paddies, they fall into the broader category of insects that live in water. Harvesting typically happens at night, when the bugs are drawn to light traps set near paddies.
16. Dung Beetles
Dung beetles, including species in the genus Scarabaeus, are eaten in parts of West Africa and Southeast Asia after being cleaned and roasted, a practice that predates modern food-safety guidance and requires careful preparation to remove contaminants. Traditional cooks typically purge the insects on clean feed for a period before cooking.
The nutritional draw is largely about availability rather than flavor complexity, since dung beetles are abundant in agricultural and grazing regions year-round. They are rarely marketed commercially and remain mostly a subsistence food in the communities that eat them.
17. Palm Weevil Larvae
Palm weevil larvae, most often from the species Rhynchophorus phoenicis, are harvested from the trunks of felled palm trees across West and Central Africa, where they are skewered and grilled over open flame. The larvae are notably high in fat and are sometimes rendered for cooking oil in addition to being eaten whole.
A related species, Rhynchophorus ferrugineus, is farmed intentionally in parts of Southeast Asia specifically for the food market rather than harvested as a pest byproduct. Both species thrive in tropical palm groves similar to those found in the Amazon rainforest, where related palm-feeding grubs are also part of Indigenous diets.
18. Witchetty Grubs
Witchetty grubs are the wood-boring larvae of the cossid moth (Endoxyla leucomochla), harvested from the roots of witchetty bush in the Australian outback. Aboriginal communities in central Australia have relied on the grubs as a traditional protein source for generations, typically eating them raw or lightly roasted over coals.
The larvae have a nutty flavor when cooked and a texture often compared to scrambled eggs or roasted almonds. They are considered a bush tucker staple and remain one of the most frequently cited examples of edible insects in Australian food culture, according to World Atlas.
19. Mopane Worms
Mopane worms are the caterpillar stage of the emperor moth (Gonimbrasia belina), named for the mopane trees they feed on across Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Namibia. Dried mopane worms are a major regional commodity, sold in markets and often rehydrated in stews with tomato and onion.
The mopane worm trade supports a substantial informal economy across southern Africa, with harvesting seasons tied directly to mopane tree growth cycles each year. Nutritional reviews published in PMC note that mopane worms are especially high in protein and iron compared to many conventional livestock sources.
20. Sago Grubs
Sago grubs, the larvae of palm weevils feeding inside felled sago palm trunks, are a traditional food across Papua New Guinea and parts of Indonesia and the Philippines, where sago starch itself is a dietary staple. The grubs are typically eaten raw, grilled, or added to sago-based dishes for extra fat and protein.
Communities that rely on sago palms often manage the trees specifically to encourage grub development, felling select trunks and returning weeks later to harvest the larvae inside. This practice ties food production directly to the same palm ecosystems that support weevil larvae harvesting elsewhere in the tropics.
Conclusion
Entomophagy is not a fringe practice globally, but it remains a cultural adjustment for many American consumers who did not grow up eating insects as a matter of course. Market researchers tracking the edible insect sector, including Mordor Intelligence, point to sustainability and protein efficiency as the primary drivers behind growing U.S. interest, since insects require far less land and water per gram of protein than cattle or pigs.
Cricket protein powders, mealworm snack chips, and insect-based pet treats have already found shelf space in specialty grocers and online retailers across the country. Whether that momentum turns into mainstream acceptance likely depends less on nutrition science, which is well established, and more on familiarity, marketing, and the kind of cultural exposure that has already made chapulines and silkworm pupae ordinary meals elsewhere in the world.