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From:
"Krell, Rainer" <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Discussion of Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Fri, 2 Sep 1994 13:25:00 +0002
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They are delicious raw, fried and boiled.  If fried in olive oil with a
little garlic or without they have a very rich, I would say nutty, flavour.
They become crunchy and a delicious snack and don't look much like beelarvae
any more.  Wax moth larvae I have not tried yet, but they are said to pop
like popcorn when deep fried and should be similarly tasty as bee larvae.
 
Insects are eaten all around the world and are usually considered a special
delicacy.  In Mexico, a large caterpillar on the Agave is sold locally
and canned for export at a price higher than caviar.  There are of course
also several cook books on preparing insects and not only honey bee larvae.
FAO's new bulletin on hive products has a chapter on harvesting, preparing
and cooking bee and wax moth larvae (to be published by the end of this
year).  Also a chapter on hive products in the 1992 edition of the hive and
the honey bee describes how to harvest the larvae and gives a description of
something like a Nepalese bee omlette.
 
I simply uncap an evenly sealed frame of brood with a very sharp knife, pour
water into the cells and shake the whole thing out onto a large tray.  The
water jet method is possible but not very practical in the field.  It's best
of course with drone brood and particularly when removing drone brood for
Varroa control, assuming no Varroacides have been applied etc.  The larvae
get damaged easily during uncapping and their content is lost if large
quantities of water are used.

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