Star objects of our collection – Bullet Ant, feared and poetized

Bullet Ant (Paraponera clavata) from the collection of the Manchester Museum; its sting is arrowed. © Manchester Museum.

Many species of ants (family Formicidae) hold a great fascination for the human from the ancient time. For instance, Pliny the Elder believed that ants are the only living creatures besides man that bury their dead. Ants have been greatly admired for the qualities of intelligence, hard work, good organisation, and harmonious social life. Moral lessons for mankind were frequently drawn from various aspects of their behaviour. In the Old Testament, one can find the following wisdom: ‘Go to the any thou sluggard; consider her ways and be wise: which, having no guide, overseer, or ruler, provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest’. Ant colonies in their anthills could be seen as both a microcosm of man and his world, and a positive example of communal cooperation. However, not all ants have acquired such a positive reputation among humans, some of them are feared: e.g., the Bulldog Ant (Myrmecia sp.), or the African Driver Ants (Dorylus spp.), which sometimes are depicted as merciless invaders that consume all creatures in their path, especially in Hollywood horror movies; for general information about myrmecophobia (=fear of ants) see here.

One of the feared ant species is the Bullet Ant (Paraponera clavata), a large black ant that can reach a length up to 2-3 cm (see photo). It is the largest ant of Central and South Americas, known from the Caribbean lowlands of such countries as Honduras and Costa Rica, southward to Peru and Brazil. Ants live in large subterranean colonies with the entrances situated at the base of large trees. Each colony contains from 700 to 1400 worker ants: i.e., members of the worker caste, all are infertile females. Workers are solitary hunters that search for their prey (various smaller insects) from ground level up to the canopy, and can be seen and encountered during both day- and night times; for more information about Bullet Ant see here and here.

This ant should be avoided as it can inflict an extremely painful sting (its sting is arrowed in the photo above). The venom of the Bullet Ant contains poneratoxin, a neuropeptide causing an acute pain and local paralysis, but not fatal to humans. The regional name of Paraponera clavata in Costa Rica is ‘hormiga bala’, meaning ‘bullet ant’. People who have been stung by this ant say that its bite feels like a bullet wound, or even like a 3-inch burning rusty nail in your heel; the pain can last for 24 or more hours, and a person may need 2 weeks to recover from a single sting. If someone scored various stinging insects like bees, wasps and ants on a pain scale from 1 to 4, еру Bullet Ant would surely get the highest, 4-point score. Hence, it is hardly surprising that Native Americans of the Yurok tribe in California believe that ants became venomous by catching chips in their mouths from a mythical burning arrowhead. In Brazil, members of the indigenous tribe Satere-Mawe, who reside along the border between the Pará and Amazonas states in Brazil, use Bullet Ants and their painful stings in a ceremony of initiating young men into adulthood; watch the video below.

Despite some undeniably negative qualities (from the point of view of humans, of course) that can be attributed to bullet ants, the ant still inspires some naturalists to poetize them. Here is the latest limerick dedicated to the Bullet Ant by Richard A. Jones (2021):

The bullet ant feared no attacker,

Because with her sting she fought backer.

The venom she dealt

Was the worst to be felt –

A true hypodermic fire-cracker.

References and further reading:

Henderson C. L. 2010. Butterflies, moths, and other invertebrates of Costa Rica. Austin, University of Texas Press, 173 pp.

Jones R. A. & Ure-Jones C. 2021. A natural history of insects in 100 limericks. Pelagic Publishing, 110 pp.

Kritsky G. & Cherry R. 2000. Insect Mythology. Writers Club Press, 140 pp.

Sleigh C. 2003. Ant. Reaktion Book, 216 pp.

Read Full Post »

Back from the Dead: Entomology and the Birth of a New Genre (part II)

Stories from the Museum Floor

In this week’s Story from the Museum Floor Visitor Team member Piotr continues his fascinating exploration of the intersection between Entomology and early film making through the pioneering work of Władysław Starewicz.

Check out the first part of the story here. And for more on our entomology collections have a look at the Curator’s blog.

Out of the real world he created the world of fantasy

When World War I started in the summer of 1914, Russia was separated from the rest of Europe by the German frontline. Since foreign films were unavailable, there was a huge demand on the local filmmaking industry. The so called Skobelev Committee got the monopoly on producing war reels, but the same organisation also established a fiction film department. Film directors working for the studio were given exemption from military service, which may have been the reason why Starewicz joined the Committee…

View original post 2,290 more words

Read Full Post »

Back from the Dead: Entomology and the Birth of a New Genre (part I)

Stories from the Museum Floor

In this week’s Story from the Museum Floor, Piotr from the Visitor Team explores the fascinating intersection between Entomology and early film making through the pioneering work of Władysław Starewicz.

For more on our Entomology collections please take a look the Curator’s blog.

Back from the Dead

Another year has passed and the Paper pumpkins, grinning at us as they hang from the trees are now several months behind us. Back in the Halloween season of 2019 we had a very successful screening of The Nightmare before Christmas  here at the Museum in our Living Worlds gallery. Conceived and produced by Tim Burton, and directed by Henry Selick, this 1993 classic has been attracting new audiences and enjoying a  cult following since its first release, more than 27 years ago. What I am also sure of is that probably very few people will wonder where and how it all…

View original post 2,837 more words

Read Full Post »

Star objects of our collection – the Ox Beetle

To celebrate the 2021 Year of the Ox in the Chinese calendar, we have chosen the Ox Beetle (Strategus aloeus) as a star object from the Manchester Museum’s Entomology collection. It is a species of the rhinoceros beetles from the family Scarabaeidae from the Americas. The male Ox Beetle has three characteristic horns on its thorax, two at the back and the longer one at the front, resembling Triceratops. This species is also called Elephant Beetle, Hercules beetle or Escarabajo Buey (in Spanish).

Male of the Ox Beetle. © Julián-Caballero C. Camilo

Adults of the Ox beetle can grow up to 2.5-3.8 cm long and live four to six months only. They feed mainly on various fruits and flowers, and are very active during the breeding season from May to November. Interestingly, the male Ox Beetles have two varieties, “major” and “minor”. Major males have three large horns on the thorax used for mating competitions. Minor males have shorter horns. Female Ox Beetles have a small raised area (a very short horn) used mainly for digging, not for fighting. Females lay their eggs in rotten wood or roots on sandy soil, with dried leaves sometimes added to maintain the right temperature and secure hatching.

Female Ox Beetle from the Entomology collection of the Manchester Museum. © The Manchester Museum

Larvae or grubs of Ox Beetles feed on roots with their powerful mandibles. Larvae are about 5 cm in size when curled, double if straightened. The larval stage takes about 4-6 months to develop into a pupal stage and almost a year to develop into an adult. Pupation may be affected by weather conditions, but this stage can be shortened when maintained in warmer environments (for example, when bred in captivity, for a manual see here).

This species is the largest and most common beetle found in the south-west part of the USA, from Arizona to Florida. It occurs throughout Central America and in parts of South America (especially in Colombia, Ecuador and Brazil).

Records of the Ox Beetle in the Americas; based on Naturalista Colombia.

Larvae of Ox Beetles are considered pests, causing damage to plantations and gardens. For example, in Colombia, larvae affect recently planted oil palms due to the use of large amount of decomposing material as part of the planting process. In Mexico, larvae can affect new plantations of Blue Agave, Agave tequilana, a key ingredient of tequila. However, adults and larvae of the Ox Beetle also play a vital role in recycling organic matter in tropical ecosystems.

More information and resources:

• Ox Beetle Wikipedia
• Beneficial in the garden: Ox Beetle / Elephant Beetle
• Ox Beetle, grub
• iNaturalist – Strategus aloeus
• Manual for breeding Scarabaeidae   
• Effect of replanting systems on populations of Strategus aloeus (L.) and Rhynchophorus palmarum (L.) associated with the oil palm OxG interspecific hybrid (Elaeis oleifera × Elaeis guineensis) in Southwestern Colombia              
• Parámetros poblacionales de Strategus aloeus, barrenador de la palma de aceite
• Descripción de las Larvas de Tercer Instar de Melolonthidae (Coleoptera) Asociadas al Cultivo de Agave tequilana var. Azul y su Fluctuación Poblacional en Jalisco, México

Read Full Post »

Spiders: to fear or not to fear?

Spiders – you love them or you hate them. The latter is probably because you are afraid of them. It is hardly surprising, as the (inter)national media are full of spider-related nonsense with the only truth being that the news are about spiders which indeed exist: e.g., THE SCOTSMAN, Oct 1 2005: “Scotland is being invaded by new breeds of spider which are marching north as a result of climate change…” – DAILY MAIL, July 1 2005: “Gardener is left fighting for breath after a nip from the black widow’s distant cousin”. – THE WASHINGTON TIMES, Feb 27 2004: “A German man who kept more than 200 spiders in his home, along with other odd pets, was apparently killed and eaten by his critters”. No doubts, after reading this, anyone will get scared. Actually, the first two storylines are about False Black Widow Spiders (Steatoda species) representing part of the native British fauna and not dangerous. Reports on their bites are rarely/not backed up with formal spider identification.

Historically, spiders have become a traditional part of Halloween scare and even its symbol due to their suspected connection with witches. In medieval times, spiders, black cats and rats were believed to be evil companions of witches. Spiders are regularly depicted in horror films, occurring in and crawling out witch dwellings, vampire lairs or dungeons, and such places are always shown as being totally lined up with a thick layer of silk. Hence, no wonder people are afraid of spiders. But are spiders really that dangerous?

Pumpkin spider candle holder. © Jade Adrian

Spiders represent a very diverse group of organisms, with over 48,860 species being described worldwide to date. In Britain alone there are approximately 670 spider species, of which two thirds belong to the group known as ‘money spiders’ – tiny creatures with the body length less than 2 mm long. In the UK, there are NO spiders dangerous to man, rest assured about this. Nevertheless, how many of us could admire spiders or simply tolerate their presence: say, daddy-long-legs in own cellar or a house-spider in a bathroom?

Most/all common fears of spiders are because these awesome creatures are badly misunderstood. If one imagines a spider, two main features thereof immediately come to mind: venom and silk. Let us consider both features and some misconceptions connected to them.

1. All spiders are poisonous.

This is what people say and this is one of the main reasons why spiders are feared. Well, all spiders are carnivorous. They possess sharp fangs and kill their prey with a venomous bite. Thus, all spiders, except for one family Uloboridae, are venomous. But the common concern and fear are really about whether spiders are dangerous to humans?

Our ancestors seemed to be confident about this, depicting spiders as demonic, insect ghouls, with venom mouths. Sir Thomas Wyatt (1503–42) in his epigram ‘How by a Kiss he found both his Life and Death’ made known spiders as anti-bees gathering poison from a flower:

“Nature, that gave the bee so feat a grace

To find honey of so wondrous fashion,

Hath taught the spider out of the same place

To fetch poison, by strange alteration.”

In the 17th century, spiders and their bites were sometimes regarded as dangerous as nitric acid or rat poison. Even nowadays, there are lots of urban legends about “deadly” spiders, for instance, “The Daddy-longlegs Spider has the world’s most powerful venom”; “People can lose arms and legs because of spider bites”; “Deadly poisonous spiders lurk beneath toilet seats in airports”; “The spider found in the bath crawled out the plughole”; etc. Alas, none of these statements is true.

Male of House Spider (Eratigena duellica) did not crawl out the plughole, as some might think, it entered the house via the door searching for a possible mate. Just let it go. © H. Bellmann

In a simplified way, there are two different kinds of venom produced by spiders: neurotoxic and necrotic. Neurotoxic venoms work directly on the nervous system. The best known example is the venom of Black Widow spiders (Latrodectus species). Necrotic venoms cause damage to the tissues, such as ulcers and lesions. The best example is the venom of Recluse Spiders (Loxosceles species). More about spider bites here and here. However, we need to remember that although a dozen or so spiders (out of about 50,000 species known worldwide) are known to produce venom that is toxic to humans, none of these species occurs in the UK. Thus, in this country, there is no reason to fear spiders and their bites at all.

Cross section of spider carapace to show the position of poison glands. Modified from Foelix (2011).

2. All spiders make webs.

In our imaginary world spiders are capable of weaving silk in such large quantities that even a human body could be wrapped up, as it happened to poor Frodo Baggins in Shelob’s lair from ‘The Lord of the Rings’. Nothing could be more untrue than such nonsense (not to mention that the giant spider Shelob was depicted as a non-existing type of animal (even with a sting).

The English word ‘spider’ comes from the old English ‘spinnan’ via the Middle English ‘spither’ meaning ‘spinner’, and as such spiders frequently appear in English literature. For instance, Shakespeare used a spider in his ‘The Merchant of Venice’, Act III, Scene II:  “Here in her hairs / the painter plays the spider, and hath woven / a golden mesh t’entrap the hearts of men”. Yes, all spiders can produce and weave silk. However, although all spider webs are made of silk – the material of outstanding mechanical properties (or here) – not all spiders build webs for prey capture. Many actively hunt for their prey, as reflected in their names: jumping spiders, lynx spiders, wolf spiders, etc. Yet all spiders use silk for producing egg sacs, retreats, moulting or mating chambers, draglines, and some of them for making catching devices. Many spiders use silk threads for ballooning and this way can disperse for long distances, sometimes for hundreds of miles (watch the video below). This is why in the Medieval English bestiaries, spiders were described as aerial worms that take their nourishment from the air.

I you are walking in the countryside and accidentally have a silk thread across your face, there is nothing to worry about – it is likely to be gossamer, and hence the time for St Martin’s summer, Martinmas in a church and a goose to be cooked and eaten… By all means silk production by spiders has no effect on our life, apart from the need to clean dark corners of our houses, and in this respect there is no need to worry or fear spiders at all.

Male of common European jumping spider Aelurillus v-insignitus is looking at you. Is not it cute? Are you really still scared? © Barbara Thaler-Knoflach

Further reading:

Foelix R.F. 2011. Biology of spiders (third edition). Oxford Univ. Press., 420 pp.

Hillyard P. 1994. The book of the spider. New York: Avon Books, 218 pp.

Marren P. & Mabey R. 2010. Bugs Brittanica. London: Chatto & Windus, 500 pp.

Read Full Post »

Bees and their symbolism in Indian mythology

A Honeybee (Apis mellifera) collecting nectar and pollen, as seen by a professional photographer. © Victor Glupov (Novosibirsk, Russia).

A Honeybee drinking nectar, as seen by a folk artist. Madhubani Folk Art, practiced in the Mithila region of India; August, 2018. Source: Indian Institute of Science.

Everyone knows and likes bees, particularly the European Honeybee (Apis mellifera), both as the spring harbinger in poetry and as the maker of honey. As a poet from Minnesota James Lenfestey (2016: 99) nicely put it, “Honey is food the way poetry is food, sweet as a child’s wounded smile is sweet, complex the way fine wine’s complex, enrapturing the entire mouth, with a sticky, lasting finish”. The Honeybee is one of the few insects domesticated and then cultivated by man for own benefits; the second most famous one is Silkworm Moth (Bombyx mori).

Bee is a universal symbol of ethical virtues, such as diligence, sociability, purity, cleanliness, wisdom, creativity and others (Kritsky & Cherry, 2000). In Ancient Egypt, tears of the Sun God Ra turned into bees upon touching the ground. In Ancient Greece, bee was a cult symbol for Artemis, the virgin huntress and goddess of wild nature. In Christian allegory, Honeybee often represents the Virgin Mary, also known as Queen of the Bees in Catholicism. As Mary gave birth to Christ, so the queen bee produces honey; more about Honeybees in the Bible can be found here.

Depictions of Honeybees – a Christian symbol of purity and cleanliness – on the main doors of La Sagrada Familia Cathedral in Barcelona (Catalonia). © Dmitri Logunov (Manchester, UK).

The British traditional lore on bees is also rich (Chainey, 2018). For instance, in Suffolk it is believed that Honeybees are to be treated as members of the family because they are intelligent and hard-working creatures. Penzance people are confident that honey should be harvested on St Bartholomew’s Day (24 August), because he is the patron saint of bees. In Yorkshire, dire consequences could follow if someone kills a bee. Perhaps, one of the best-known bee symbols in the UK is the worker bee of Manchester, which has been an emblem of the city’s hard-working past and the city being a hive of activity for over 150 years (see here and here for more information).

One of the traditional images of the worker bee of Manchester, the city that was made by the workers. © http://www.visitmanchester.com.

One of the most diverse pantheons of bee-related symbols exists in India. There are evidences of beekeeping and harvesting honey in India since the early Vedic Period (c. 1,500 BC); see here for more information. In Āyurveda, one of the world’s oldest healthy lifestyle system, honey is mentioned as being used for healing and cleaning wounds, anointing and diets (see here for more information).

In India, honey is collected from four indigenous bee species: Indian Honeybee (Apis cerana indica), a non-aggressive, domesticated bee in South Asia; Giant Honeybee (Apis dorsata), a large, aggressive species that could not be domesticated and is harvested from the wild; Dwarf Honeybee (Apis florea), a harmless species living in small, open colonies, not domesticated and also harvested from the wild; and Stingless Bee (Tetragonula iridipennis), a small harmless species of which honey and especially propolis (=bee glue) have notable pharmacological properties. Modern methods of beekeeping in India and the introduction of the European Honeybee (Apis mellifera) started in the late 19th century.

Specimens of Giant Honeybee (Apis dorsata) from the Manchester Museum’s entomological collection. © The Manchester Museum.

In Hindu mythology, bees are divine assistants to human’s earthly life, helping to keep all of nature in harmony. Bees are also powerful symbols of life and rebirth. In Assam, the spirit of men are said to become Honeybees (bee-souls). Here are few examples of numerous Indian bee-related symbols (based on Karttunen, 2015):

(1) Bees’ attraction to flowers was commonly used in erotic symbolism, developing the idea of kissing bees being in love with flowers: ‘A flower without a bee is like a young woman in love without a lover’ (Śankara ŚTBh 134). In India, beautiful women were said to attract bees that mistake them for flowers: their sweet breath or lotus-feet were mistaken for real lotus flowers. Well, some people might suspect that women’s perfume, flower ornaments or occasionally aromatic incenses could be the reason for this attraction, but who would believe in such explanation?

(2) Bees and their hum are often mentioned as symbols of love and spring. In the spring – the season of Kāma, the Hindu God of Love (sometimes depicted as Brahma‘s son) – the hum of bees is taken by poets as a romantic sound inciting love. It is believed that people yearning for absent or unwilling lovers could not stand to hear bees’ buzzing. In Indian mythology, Honeybees form the string of Kāma’s bow made of sugarcane, symbolizing that the love arrows of god are sweet but also painful. Kāma shoots five flowery arrows triggering the five effects of desire: attraction, followed by disturbance, burning, desiccation and, alas, destruction. Bees and their hum are always mentioned as Kāma’s subsidiary weapons.

Kāma, the Hindu God of Love, with his sugarcane bow having the string formed by honeybees. Source: here.

(3) Bee was a symbol of the Hindu gods Indra, Krishna and Vishnu who were collectively called Madhava, ‘born of honey’. Bees belong to the abodes of gods: Indra’s paradise. The Sanskrit word for honey is madhu, which means ‘mead’. Madhavi is also the name of a perennial evergreen liana (Hiptage benghalensis), native to India, which is usually mentioned in poetry as an erotic symbol, since it blooms in spring; it is also of great medicinal value.

Honeybees are attracted by the sweetness of Krishna’s face. Source: Krishna Art.

(4) God Brahmā (the Creator) is the bee of Vishnu’s navel-lotus, humming Vedic texts (veda means ‘knowledge’).

Hindu Goddess Bhrāmarī and the honeybees. Source: Planet Bee Foundation.

One of the expressions of Hindus’ supreme deity Vishnu is an ethereal Blue Bee on a Lotus flower; the latter is the foremost symbol of feminine beauty (especially female eyes), prosperity and fertility. The blue colour refers to that of the sky from which the gods come. Brahmi (= waterhyssop; Bacopa monnieri) is a non-aromatic Indian herb which is used in a traditional Āyurvedic medicine.

There is also a Hindu Goddess Bhrāmarī (an incarnation of the Goddess Shakti) – the Goddess of Black Bees – whose name could be translated as ‘like a bee’ and who is associated with bees, hornets and wasps. Bee Goddess was regarded as the female principle of the divine, destroyer of demons and the embodiment of the energies of the Gods.

In modern India, bees are still perceived with an obvious piety: “…A man on the ground so low lifted his head up looking at us, smiling, raising his brow…” – from Mystic Indian. Since the ancient times, it is believed that honey brings poets the gift of sweet speech. Here is a quote from Rig Veda (1:90:6-8), an ancient collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns from around 1,5-2,000 BC:

“Let every wind that blows drop honey
Let the rivers and streams recreate honey
Let all our medicines turn honey
Let the dawn and evening be full of honey
Let the dark particles be converted to honey
Our nourisher, this sky above, be full of honey
Let our trees be honey
Let the Sun be honey
Let our cows secrete honey”.

Modern authors, artists and scientists continue to be struck by bees, their buzzing lifestyle, complex organisation of their life and their importance in nature. You can find more about bees, bee art and art in conservation in a special section of the Manchester Museum’s new exhibition ‘Beauty of the Beasts’ (here); the entire content of the exhibition can be found here.

‘UnBEElievables’, Picture book by Douglas Florian (2012).

References and further reading:

Chainey D.D. 2018. A treasury of British folklore. Maypoles, Mandrakes & Mistletoe. National Trust, 192 pp.

Fudala A. 2017. The Sacred Bee: Ancient India. – Planet Bee Foundation, online here.

Karttunen K. 2015. Bhramarotpītādharah – Bees in Classical India. – Studia Orientalia Electronica, 107: 89-134; online here.

Kritsky G. & Cherry R. 2000. Insect Mythology. Writers Club Press, 140 pp.

Read Full Post »

Star objects of our collection – Giant Japanese Spider Crab

Fig. 1. The male of Giant Japanese Spider Crab, Macrocheira kaempferi, from the collection of the Manchester Museum. Donated by Dr J.H. Ashworth in January 19th, 1904 (accession no. G1016). © Manchester Museum.

The Giant Spider Crab, Macrocheira kaempferi (family Inachidae) (Fig. 1), is not only the largest crustacean but the largest living arthropod (i.e., an invertebrate animal with articulated legs) in the world. In Japan, the crab is known as “Taka-ashi-gani” which means “Tall-legged crab”. The body of these giants can be up to 37-40 cm long, 3.8 m in leg span and 19 kg in weight; the average leg span of the crabs caught by fishermen is 1-1.2 m. Males are larger than females, with larger claws and narrower body. See here and here for more details about crab morphology.

Giant Spider Crabs live on the sandy and rocky seabed off the Pacific side of the Japanese islands (Honshu and Kyushu), at depths of 200-300 m, but can be found deeper, to over 500 m. It is believed that in the wild crabs can live for 50-100 years. According to popular sea folklore, Giant Spider Crabs might drag sailors underwater and feast on their flesh, which could never be true because the crabs are omnivorous scavengers, feeding on carrion, dead plant matter and shellfish.

In early spring (January to March), crabs move to shallower waters (around 50 m) to moult and reproduce. Each female lays up 1.5 million eggs and carries them on its backs and lower body during incubation (about 10 days) until they hatch. The vast majority of newly hatched larvae do not survive to maturity.

Giant Spider Crabs are considered delicacy in Japan (eaten raw, salted or cooked) and caught by small trawling nets. Although the Giant Spider Crab is not subject to large-scale commercial fishery because of difficulties in capturing them, it is restricted to a very small zone of habitation and hence its population is vulnerable to numerous threats. Efforts are made to protect Giant Japanese Spider Crabs from overfishing, for instance, by restocking the wild population with juvenile crabs artificially cultured in fisheries. In Japan, the law also prohibits fishermen from catching the crabs during the mating season, from January to April.

Watch a video about Japanese Spider Crabs filmed at the Osaka Aquarium.

Further reading:

Riebel W. Macrocheira kaempferi; online here.

Anon. 2014. Japanese Giant Spider Crab, Macrocheira kaempferi (introduction – habitats – biology – utilization); online here.

Anon. Japanese Spider Crab, Wikipedia.

AZA Aquatic Invertebrate Taxon Advisory Group. 2014. Japanese Spider Crab Care Manual. Silver Spring, MD: Association of Zoos and Aquariums. 60pp.

Read Full Post »

Creepy, Crawly and… Crunchy?

A caterpillar (the witchery grub) of the Carpenter Moth, family Cossidae (left), and the Giant Water Bug (Belostoma sp.) (right) from the insect collections of the Manchester Museum.

The following story was prepared by Jamie Burnett, the third year undergraduate student of the University of Manchester, who spent few months in the Manchester Museum’s Entomology Department in 2019 helping us out as a volunteer.

In their book, “Man Eating Bugs”, Peter Menzel and Faith D’Aluisio ask a Ugandan policeman named David to try some palm worms they have collected; he refuses vehemently, finding the idea off-putting. Faith then asks if he eats termites or grasshoppers, which he enthusiastically admits he does – “Yes, they are very good” (Menzel et al., 1998). Why is he perfectly happy to eat one type of insect, but another is repulsive to him? This is a useful example of how a person’s taste is shaped by their culture, which dictates what is considered edible.

Eating insects, known as entomophagy, has been promoted as an alternative to mainstream staples such as chicken, pork or beef. Containing high levels of protein and fat, as well as calcium, iron and zinc, edible insects are capable of replacing meat nutritionally, and already appear in many traditional diets around the world. Furthermore, insect rearing for consumption is fairly cheap, does not require high technology equipment or land clearing, and emits fewer greenhouse gases than most livestock. Due to their cold-blooded nature, insects are also very efficient at converting feed into protein, much more so than cattle, pigs, sheep and chickens (Van Huis, 2013).

If entomophagy is cheap, healthy and good for the environment, why isn’t everyone doing it? We return to David, the Ugandan policeman, to shed some light on this question. His response, instant disgust, is the same that many Europeans or North Americans would feel if offered an insect-based snack – this disgust could be due to the pathogen-avoidance mechanism, shared by humans and many other animals. This mechanism protects us from parasites and infection by provoking disgust and repulsion to anything considered to be a source of pathogens, such as mouldy food (Sarabian et al., 2018).

Culture, however, plays an important role in this process; as children we learn from our parents what is worth eating and what to avoid. As this differs according to location and climate, so too do tastes and diets. In tropical climates, insects tend to be larger and gather in significant numbers, with a variety of different species available at predictable harvest times throughout the year. As such, insects feature in many different tropical diets and there is less aversion against using them as food. In comparison, large domesticated mammals (such as cows) were more reliable in temperate climates, with the added benefits of providing milk products, leather and a means of transport. Therefore, insects were of little use (aside from honeybees) and are now mainly thought of as pests (Van Huis, 2013).

However, as the climate changes and food security becomes a rising concern, perhaps we should take note from those cultures that embrace entomophagy, and try Australian witchetty grub soup or a Cambodian deep-fried tarantula. As well as doing your bit for the planet, you might surprise yourself and find a new favourite food!

If you’re interested in reading about entomophagy, the article by Van Huis provides a wealth of information about scientific, commercial and social aspects, whilst “Man Eating Bugs” is a much more personal, humorous book of a couple’s journey to explore different cultures which eat insects.

Please, also visit our previous blog post devoted to the same topic.

 References

Van Huis, A. (2013) Edible insects : future prospects for food and feed security.

Menzel, P. and D’Aluisio, F. (1998) Man eating bugs : the art and science of eating insects.

Sarabian, C., Curtis, V. and McMullan, R. (2018) ‘Evolution of pathogen and parasite avoidance behaviours.’, Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences. The Royal Society, 373(1751). doi: 10.1098/rstb.2017.0256.

Read Full Post »

Civilizations and Locusts: God’s wrath or revelation?

Fig. 00. Young specimens of Migratory Locust (Locusta migratoria), NE Kazakhstan. The photo demonstrates distinct colour differences between solitary (left), intermediate (middle) and gregarious (right) forms. © Victor V. Glupov (Novosibirsk, Russia).

It seems that apart from Locust (and perhaps fleas) there are no other insects which could have been so destructive to human affairs and civilizations. When conditions are favourable, vast migrating swarms of Locusts can appear as a cloud that darkens the sky and rapidly devour all plant material on their way, from field crops to the foliage on trees. So great is their apocalyptic quality in human minds that, since the time of the Pharaohs, Locusts have been seen as a symbol of destruction – the wrath of God or a sign of cosmic disorder.

At first glance, Locusts look like large, short-horned and harmless grasshoppers, but their behaviour is different. Unlike grasshoppers, when Locusts are present in large numbers they tend to crowd together, forming vast swarms that can migrate long distances and cause catastrophic plagues. Large swarms can invade an area of Africa and Asia that extends across 57 countries and covers more than 20% of the land surface of the Earth (Fig. 1).

A single swarm may contain many million individuals, with an overall mass of several tonnes. Since these insects eat approximately their own mass of vegetation daily, they cause immense destruction of crops and pastures. For instance, 2.5 square kilometre’s worth of locusts – 100 to 200 million individuals – can consume 220 to 270 tonnes of food, which is enough to feed 200,000 people. In a single day, an average swarm can eat the same quantity of food as 2,500 people.

Fig. 1. The invasion area of the Desert Locust (Schistocerca gregaria) and areas in which outbreaks are known to have occurred (from Logunov, 2006).

The apocalyptic quality of Locusts in human minds seemed to be the reason why their grotesque figures – gargoyles – were sometimes carved into the architecture of churches and monasteries (Fig. 2), perhaps creating a symbolic representation of hell. Furthermore, of some 98 bug species mentioned in the Revised English Bible, the Locust is referred to at least 31 times (see also here). For instance, “…When morning came, the east wind had brought the locusts. …They devoured all the vegetation and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had spread.” – The Bible, Exodus (10: 13–15). Indeed, it could be an apocalypse for those people who observed Locust swarms in action.

Fig. 2. A Locust gargoyle in the two-storey cloister of the Jerónimos Monastery (16th century, Lisbon, Portugal). © Dmitri V. Logunov (Manchester, UK).

Therefore, it is hardly surprising that ecclesiastic institutions of early medieval Christian Europe portrayed Locusts as chimeras, demonic and malevolent creatures (Fig. 3, on the left). Such visualization reflected the prevailing theological conceptions of Locust as an instrument of divine vengeance. Its more or less human-like head reflected the mind needed to separate sinners from pious people; the strong wings were needed to fly over humans in order to administer the justice; the scorpion-like tail was the main tool of chastise; etc. Such depiction of the Locust is a striking example of the distortion of human perception induced by the symbolic view of reality, which was introduced by theologians. No doubts, even in the sixteen century people knew very well how real insects look like (Fig. 3, on the right).

Fig. 3. Two contrast depictions of Locusts. On the left: A section of the Monogrammist HW, “Natuerliche Contrafeyhing…”, dated 1556, a diabolic depicting of the locust (Zürich; modified from Ritterbush, 1969: fig. 2). – On the right: A section of the plate from “Archetypica studiaque patris Georgii Hoefnagelii”, dated 1592, a realistic depiction of the locust; from the archives of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History (from Smith, 1986: plate 13).

Despite some Locusts are great pests in many parts of the world, human attitude towards them is not particularly cruel. In India, when a swarm of Bombay Locusts (Nomadacris succincta) comes, people just try to scare them away by lighting fires, beating brass pots, and ringing the temple bell. In Uttar Pradesh, people catch one Locust, decorate its heard with a spot of red lead, salaam to it, and let it go; thereupon people believe that it will immediately depart with all its companions.

There is at least one benefit of having locusts in swarms: they can be harvested and used as food (Fig. 4; see also here). The Arabs boil them with salt, and then add a little oil or butter; sometimes they toast them by the fire before eating them. In Madagascar, there is a common saying: “One needs to waken early in the morning to catch grasshoppers”. About 80 grasshopper/locust species are consumed worldwide. In Morocco, even the price of provision falls when the Locusts appear. The main problem with consuming Locusts is that due to their status of agricultural pests they may be sprayed with insecticides in governmental control programmes, which makes them a polluted food.

Fig. 4. Locusts are ready for consumption. © J. Princess.

In some other cultures, for instance, those of Native Americans, the relationships between Locust-like insects and man were less dramatic than in medieval Europe, although not fully friendly. The following animation ‘Banquet’ is loosely based on an old folktale by Yaqui people from northern Mexico. It is about a Grasshopper and a Cricket that attended an Indian banquet. They ate and drank with the Chief but behaved badly, so that Yaqui people did not want them coming back.

Created by Eva Akesson, a BA Animation student of the Manchester School of Art at the Manchester Metropolitan University in 2016. Music composed by Peter Byrom-Smith and performed by the Guild Hall Collective, conducted by Rod Skipp.

Control of Locusts is a challenge. Some says that no attempt to control locusts or bring down the swarm has ever succeeded – in each case the plague disappeared only when nature had run its course. Globally, the costs of combating this plague were colossal, over 300 million US$. It is believed that recent plagues happened mainly due to the decline of co-operation between neighbouring countries. Survey and control operations often have to be carried out in important breeding areas in which access is severely restricted due to civil conflicts and general insecurity (some regions of Algeria, Somalia, Yemen, Sudan and others). Thus, the true key issues of locust control now are not the lack of scientific knowledge or technical means, but a problem of socio-political organization which cannot be controlled by scientists. Unless this basic issue is resolved, alas, humans will always be at the mercy of nature when it comes to dealing with locust plagues.

 Further reading

Chapman, R.F. 1976. A Biology of Locusts, Studies in Biology no. 71, Edward Arnold, Great Britain.

Logunov, D.V. 2006. Locusts: God’s wrath or revelation. Biological Sciences Review, 19(1): 6-9.

Kritsky G. & Cherry R. 2000. Insect Mythology. Writer Club Press, San Jose, New York, Lincoln, Shanghai.

Read Full Post »

Civilizations and their by-effects: beware of cockroaches, our neighbours and companions

A view of the cockroach collection of the Manchester Museum.

Any online dictionary (e.g., here) can provide a clear definition of what is a human civilization. For instance, it is “the stage of human social development and organization which is considered most advanced”. Such advanced stage is achieved by bringing out of a savage, uneducated or unrefined state, and is commonly measured by a high level of culture, science, industry and government (whatever the latter could mean). Certainly, such definition is rather egocentric and likely to reflect human’s own pride. Possible side effects of any human civilization are rarely considered, not to mention that all such civilizations are developed and thrive at the expense of the Nature surrounding them.

Fig. 1. A visual history of the cockroaches, from the world it shared with dinosaurs to the urban world it shares with man, by Brian Raszka, 1999 (from M. Copeland, 2003, ‘Cockroach’).

All human civilizations create a specific urban environment, which is not sterile and inhabited by plethora of living beings, such as: rats, fleas, bed-bugs, mosquitoes and other wicked bugs. Collectively they are called synanthropic species, i.e. associated with man. These creatures live with us only because we have provided them with a suitable environment and food. More importantly, their presence is difficult/impossible to control (Fig. 1) – they always are and will be wherever humans do. They share the civilization with us regardless of what we think of them. Thus, why not to accept them as a legitimate part of a ‘human civilization’?

Fig. 2. Cockroaches as victims of the humans, ‘Executions’ by Catherine Chalmers (from M. Copeland, 2003, ‘Cockroach’).

Cockroaches are among those wicked bugs that are particularly hated by humans (Fig. 2). They are regarded as public health pests, but hardly deserve such a bad reputation. Cockroaches do not sting and do not eat our crops, though may occasionally transmit some pathogens (e.g., salmonella, staphylococcus, etc.) on their feet or their presence may cause an allergic reaction. They have been living alongside the man for hundreds of years, apparently from the time of cave man. The main problem with cockroaches seems to be that we cannot control them. If the environment is suitable (i.e., the right humidity & temperature and the availability of food) – which is usually correct as far as human dwelling concerned – they will always be there. Thus, if it is us who provide cockroaches with a suitable accommodation and lots of food, should we really blame/hate them for staying with us?

In human dwellings, cockroaches hide in cracks/crevices and service ducting. The following short animation was created by Eifion Crane, a BA Animation student of the Manchester School of Art at the Manchester Metropolitan University in 2016. The story tells us about our unwelcomed neighbours who share our civilization with us.

Cockroaches feed on almost anything, from conventional foodstuffs to any kind of organic waste, including faeces. The main reasons why cockroaches become pests are because they are highly mobile, able to feed on almost anything and very prolific. For instance, during its life one female of the German Cockroach can produce 8 egg cases of 40 eggs in each, thus giving birth to some 3,200 youngsters.

There are about 4,500 described cockroach species worldwide (compare with 5,400 described mammal species); of them about a dozen are considered pests. Cockroaches are one of the oldest insects on the planet, dating back 350 million years (Fig. 3). As Don Marquis put it in his ‘Archy and Mehitabel’ (1913), “…I do not see why men should be so proud, insects have the more ancient linage…”.

Fig. 3. The comparative evolutionary history of the cockroaches and humans, based on Lippman cartoon (from M. Copeland, 2003, ‘Cockroach’).

Cockroaches are gregarious, tending to live in large groups and fouling the environment with their droppings, castings or regurgitated food; they also produce specific smell. This is why in most human cultures cockroaches represent the clichéd symbol of dirtiness, and their presence can cause great distress to housekeepers. The most common house cockroach-mates in Britain (Fig. 4) are the Oriental Cockroach (Blatta orientalis), German Cockroach (Blatella germanica) and American Cockroach (Periplaneta americana).

Fig. 4. Oriental (two on the left), German (in the centre) and American (right) Cockroaches; from the collection of the Manchester Museum, UK.

Is there any real remedy to get rid of cockroaches? Well, at least one can be suggested straight away. Based on the experience of our ancestors from the 19th century, it could be prudent to appeal to cockroaches’ common sense and intelligence, and to write them a letter: “Oh, Roaches, you have troubled me long enough, go now and trouble my neighbours”. This might help, but if not, then you are right: these cockroaches do not belong to such advanced civilization in which we all live. Something else is to be done (e.g., see here or here).

Cockroaches have had the long-standing relationships with humans, living alongside them since cave dwelling, and will apparently live after we’ve long gone. Knowing that the lethal dose of radiation for a cockroach is many times higher than for a man, one can say with certainty that they are more likely to survive an atomic explosion than us. Cockroaches have a resilience to survive, thriving off our cast-offs, and as humans, we have unknowingly fostered the creatures, which became part of any human civilization.

The following short animation was created by Emily Dobson, a BA Animation student of the Manchester School of Art at the Manchester Metropolitan University in 2016. Music composed by Peter Byrom-Smith and performed by the Guild Hall Collective, conducted by Rod Skipp. Enjoy the animation.

It seems that now there are fewer/no cockroaches in many houses than there used to be. Some say that this is because of electromagnetic waves generated by computers, smartphones and other gadgets we all use. Hooray!  The final remedy to get rid of cockroaches is found. However, is it really a good thing not to have cockroaches in/around our dwellings? If even cockroaches – the most resilient creatures on the planet – cannot survive in our dwellings, we could ask ourselves whether such dwellings are really healthy and suitable for us?

The fable of the cockroach and the housewife, both do have the long-standing relations (from M. Copeland, 2003, ‘Cockroach’).

“When cockroaches roam, through your family home,

Don’t panic, just do what I say,

Remember with love, the Lord up obove

And say to each other ‘Let’s pray’ (Let’s spray).” – John Seville

Finally, we do need cockroaches to thrive and be around; if they gone, the existence of our own civilization will be at great danger as well.

Read Full Post »