As a kid I read Euell Gibbons’ articles in National Geographic and dreamed of living off the land; problem was I was an extremely picky eater. Though that’s no longer the case, I haven’t yet learned my wild plants. Mushrooms and insects, yep.

Carpenter Ant pupae under a log (note how the photographer's excitement at the prospect of a good meal produces a slightly shaky image)

And though it’s true that Native American groups west of the Mississippi included more insects in their diets than those easterly of that river, one can still go foraging/hunting for insects in, for example, my home state of Rhode Island.

When I go out, I look for ant pupae - mostly Carpenter Ants; Katydids and other orthopterans; and Sow Bugs (even though they are technically not insects, but terrestrial isopods).

There are undoubtedly many other edible insects in the northeast, but while I hope and intend to expand my knowledge of what’s edible in the insect world, I’m obliged to accept both common sense and the cautions of the experts, namely, “if you don’t know - meaning, if you don’t have it on the word of an authority on the subject that a given insect species is edible, or if you are not sure of the identification of something that you’ve caught - don’t eat it!!

Two views of a Katydid: at liberty and in the hand. This one is a female; note sword-like ovipositor. Katydids are quite tasty.