The Support of Paper

The package that arrived from Japan; hopefully there will be other packages of materials concerning entomophagy. As much as I'd like to get actual processed insects from around the world [no live ones, please -- at least not yet. That would be a logistical and legal nightmare that I'm not at all ready for], starting a good library of information will be a great start.



















Inside were two offerings: a wonderful book on insects and their varied environments around the world...





















Check out the 'warrior-mantid' pose. Many kinds of mantids go through this display -- you might call it a bluff except that they're quite capable of doing some damage with their raptorial fore-limbs. It's not hard to find accounts of mantids killing and eating birds and other surprisingly large prey.





















The other contents of the package: within the large envelope, the entire first incarnation of The Food Insects Newsletter, clearly the best repository of information on entomophagy. The Newsletter was founded in 1988 by Gene DeFoliart at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. After 22 issues [3 per year] it was taken over by Florence Dunkel at the University of Montana, where another 12 issues were published. This second phase of the FINL seems to have ended as of July 1999, though that may well change at some point.





















I've long been fond of the Newsletter's logo. It gave me inspiration for my own company's graphic...






















Within the sphere of those who know about or have some curiosity about entomophagy (which we know has never been a particularly popular subject) this publication is quite well known. People have asked me about the FINL at several of the events that I've run, and when the subject of entomophagy comes up on the ENTOMO-L listserv, for example, the Newsletter is always mentioned. It's a real shame that this resource is not currently available.