海角大神

The cicadas are coming. Time to pull out the frying pan? For those excited about the insects that will soon emerge from underground in the eastern United States 鈥� a once-every-17-years phenomenon 鈥� it鈥檚 an opportunity to tantalize the palate.

Yes, cicadas are edible, as are many insects 鈥� an excellent source of protein. Recipes are聽. Cultural norms are being reevaluated. And we鈥檙e all being聽聽to eat less meat to address climate change.聽

鈥淚 know I鈥檒l be snacking on a few,鈥� retired entomologist Michael Raupp told the Monitor鈥檚 Dwight Weingarten as he reported a聽story聽on cicada 鈥渓ife lessons.鈥�

Somehow, eating a creature that can offer life lessons feels wrong. But it鈥檚 really the 鈥渋ck鈥� factor that turns off most Americans from eating insects. When a college friend returned from a Peace Corps stint in what was then聽聽in the early 1980s, he brought back a big plastic bag of dried-over-a-fire grasshoppers.

鈥淭ry one!鈥� Bruce offered. We hesitated and finally relented. Crunchy. Maybe a little bitter. I didn鈥檛 gag, but I also didn鈥檛 go for seconds.

Almost 40 years later, Bruce reminisces enthusiastically about all the insects he ate 鈥� crickets, termites, flying ants, palm beetle grubs 鈥渢he size of your thumb鈥� 鈥� and how he learned to overcome his bias.

鈥淢uch of the world finds bugs of one sort or another a great treat,鈥� Bruce writes in an email. 鈥淚t鈥檚 all in our heads, we Westerners.鈥�