Abstract
The history and current utilization of pine caterpillar by those ethnic groups living in the Yunnan province was introduced in the paper, and its potential evaluation as a cheap notorious food source was analyzed. The pine caterpillars can provide high quality proteins and high fat as well as caloric values, it means that these insects can be used as resource insects instead of pest insects. Mass harvesting the pine caterpillars by local people may reduce the use of pesticides considerably in one hand, and in the other hand, it may provide the indigenous people with high quality protein food.
Highlights
Insects offer many benefits, including their use in human and animal nutrition, in medicine, religion, art and handicrafts [15]
There are 27 species of pine caterpillars with an infested forest area of 2.7~3.3 million ha in China annually [3], 7 species are found in Yunnan: Dendrolimus houi Lajonquiere, D. kikuchii Mats, D. punctatus wenshanensis Tsai et Liu, D. punctatus techangensis Tsai et Liu, D. angulata Gaede, D. rex Lajonquiere, and D. monticola Lajonqiere [9]
Many researchers agree that harvesting of pest insects as food can be incorporated into IPM
Summary
Insects offer many benefits, including their use in human and animal nutrition, in medicine, religion, art and handicrafts [15] They have been consumed as food in many parts of the world and played an important part in the history of human nutrition in Africa, Asia, and Latin America [4, 6, 8]. Beginning in 1995, an intensive investigation of this tradition was made in over 30 counties in Yunnan and found that indigenous communities favor using the pupae of the insects as food and for other purposes in at least 14 of them. The paper reports the investigation results on the history and current situation of the practice of using pine caterpillars among different ethnic groups in Yunnan, and discusses the relationship between insect utilization and integrated pest management. Jian Zhong He and Zhong He Zhang: Utilization of Pine Caterpillars (Dendrolimus spp.) in Yunnan, China
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