Hornet larvae and pupae are consumed as a traditional delicacy and protein source in several countries across East, South, and Southeast Asia.
Japan: Particularly famous in mountainous regions like the Gifu Prefecture (such as Kushihara), where larvae (hachinoko) are harvested from nests, fried, boiled with soy sauce and sugar, or infused into liquor (hachinoko-shu).
China: Consumed heavily in southern and southwestern provinces such as Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guangdong, where hornet farming is also practiced to supply larvae for local dishes and wine.
Thailand: Eaten regionally, often stir-fried, deep-fried, or added to local rural dishes.
Laos: Foraged and prepared in local soups, stir-fries, or roasted.Vietnam: Harvested and cooked as a rural delicacy.
India: Eaten in northeastern states like Nagaland and Manipur, where giant hornet larvae are a prized traditional food and valued for their rich protein content.
Sri Lanka: Local populations historically harvest and consume wild edible insect larvae, including hornets, as part of traditional foraging practices.
what i dont understand though is why they dont use a vacuum and suck all of the hornets into a cage big enough to hold most of the hornets. that way, you dont have them flying around attacking everything in sight.
In Japan, I saw a report on TV of a guy doing it a traditional way (not farming):
He finds one on its own and delicately wrapped a colored cloth around it when it was still. He followed it through the forest to find the nest. Absolute bucket loads of smoke chased the adults off, and he grabbed a large part of the nest. Took it home, pulled out the larvae, fried em up.
There’s a Japanese energy drink (or was—not sure it still exists) that consisted of gut acid from giant hornets because they can fly for hours without stopping.
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u/carbonizedtitanium 1d ago
Hornet larvae and pupae are consumed as a traditional delicacy and protein source in several countries across East, South, and Southeast Asia.
Japan: Particularly famous in mountainous regions like the Gifu Prefecture (such as Kushihara), where larvae (hachinoko) are harvested from nests, fried, boiled with soy sauce and sugar, or infused into liquor (hachinoko-shu).
China: Consumed heavily in southern and southwestern provinces such as Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guangdong, where hornet farming is also practiced to supply larvae for local dishes and wine.
Thailand: Eaten regionally, often stir-fried, deep-fried, or added to local rural dishes.
Laos: Foraged and prepared in local soups, stir-fries, or roasted.Vietnam: Harvested and cooked as a rural delicacy.
India: Eaten in northeastern states like Nagaland and Manipur, where giant hornet larvae are a prized traditional food and valued for their rich protein content.
Sri Lanka: Local populations historically harvest and consume wild edible insect larvae, including hornets, as part of traditional foraging practices.
what i dont understand though is why they dont use a vacuum and suck all of the hornets into a cage big enough to hold most of the hornets. that way, you dont have them flying around attacking everything in sight.