Termites on the menu: protecting South Africa s edible insects
From grasshoppers to worms, eating insects is common among many communities around the world. Could DNA barcoding help protect them and culinary traditions for future generations?
Edible insects, consumed by many communities in rural South Africa, are now attracting the interest of scientists
Standing underneath a big mango tree in Mopye, a village in north eastern South Africa, Martin Boima is snacking on crunchy dried termites. He’s been eating the insects, known locally as makeke, since he was a little boy, coaxing them out of their mounds with long strips of grass and drying or frying them.