Eating caterpillars

Africa - The mopane worm is the single most harvested species of edible insect, despite the fact that this harvest has not been mechanized. 

Instead the caterpillars are picked by hand, somewhat like fruit, generally just prior to pupation. 

The worms are picked from the branches of mopane trees and squeezed, ejecting the gut contents. 

This is a messy undertaking, and the caterpillar’s spines can cause scratches and sores on the picker’s hands. 

The emptied worms are boiled in salted water and dried in the sun, after which point they have been said to keep indefinitely without spoiling.
