Hacker News Reader

Comment by cbsks | Hacker News Reader

Invasive species (native to Asia) and 1.5-2” (40-50mm) long. I’m glad they are gone!

https://www.aphis.usda.gov/plantsplant-healthplant-pests-and...

The richer oxygenation of the Earth's atmosphere in a previous geological era favoured the development of very large insects. Some wingspans attained 70cm! But the evolution of insectivorous birds likely favoured the smaller, nimbler insect variants.[1]

And then there is historical climate change as factor, not to mention K-Pg Extinction. [2,3]

[1] https://news.ucsc.edu/2012/06/giant-insects.html

[2] https://www.sci.news/paleontology/ypresiosirex-orthosemos-gi...

[3] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cretaceous%E2%80%93Paleogene...

>The richer oxygenation of the Earth's atmosphere in a previous geological era favoured the development of very large insects. Some wingspans attained 70cm!

This makes me wonder: what did these insects taste like?

Notice that humans already eat several animals that are basically very large insects: shrimp/prawns, crabs, and lobsters. According to a quick google search, these crustaceans are basically a sister group to insects, and interestingly are more closely related to insects than spiders are.

However, humans generally don't think of insects as appetizing meals, to put it mildly, while lobsters are considered a delicacy, and shrimp, crabs, and other crustaceans are not only commonly eaten, but are somewhat expensive food items.

Of course, one of the big differences between insects and these crustaceans is the size: even small shrimp are very large compared to just about any insect, so most people generally don't eat the shell, but only the fleshy insides. This is even more true with lobsters, where the shell is very thick and hard and inedible. Doing this with a beetle or grasshopper isn't so easy.

So if prehistoric insects could be so large, did they resemble sea crustaceans more (as far as having thicker shells, and more easily-separated meat)? And would humans find them tasty if we could somehow resurrect these giant insects today?

>According to a quick google search, these crustaceans are basically a sister group to insects

Not group but subphylum. That's not a very close relation at all.

Lobster wasn't always that way, early American settlers thought of it as gross poor-people food. To be clear they were a break from culinary tradition in that respect. They had debates about how often it was reasonable to force a servant or a convict to eat lobster. Maybe western culture will change its mind on insects, though I think they can leave me behind on that one.

>They had debates about how often it was reasonable to force a servant or a convict to eat lobster.

Did people eat shrimp or clams or other shellfish at that time? What was so different about lobster? Personally I'm not a huge fan of it, partly because of the taste (it's ok, but not something I'd seek out, though I do like it in a bisque soup), and even moreso because it's just a big PITA to eat unless someone shells it for me, but I'm a huge fan of shrimp, the bigger the better. Unless a culture just doesn't like shellfish at all, I don't really understand why they would think of serving lobster to prisoners as some kind of awful punishment. I'd much rather eat lobster than overcooked or poorly cooked steak, for instance.

Insects don't sound too appetizing to me, either. However, as I mentioned in my previous post, one huge difference I see between insects and lobster/shrimp/crab is that with the latter, we don't normally eat the shell. (Some people actually do eat whole shrimp, shell and head included.) Instead, we pull the fleshy parts out of the shell and eat that. With modern-day insects, this generally isn't convenient or feasible, because most insects just aren't big enough to do this. I suppose it's possible with those gigantic beetles that are the size of some people's hands, but certainly not with crickets or grasshoppers. Having to eat the entire insect, shell and all, would make the culinary experience quite different I think.

There are plenty of places in the world where people do think of insects as tasty meals.

I’ve eaten a variety of land arthropods, and many were quite good.

While it took some mental fortitude to eat a deep fried scorpion, the flavor was really good. I’d describe it as smoky, nutty bean jerky paste inside crunchy fried chicken skin.

I’d describe silk worm pupae fried with butter as having a flavor akin to nutty cheese.

Grilled giant water bugs have a floral camphor note, but i find the wings a bit papery.

There were these grubs/pupae that i had deep fried somewhere in rural thailand that were extraordinary. They had a nutty flavor and popped in your mouth. I have no idea what they were, but I could easily see having them instead of popcorn while watching a movie.

Crickets grilled with in corn husks with basil and garlic are divine. The taste is subtle and nutty.

I suspect that nutty would be a common adjective.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com