Reply #16: Unless you include...

[TreasonousBastard]

lobster, crabs, shrimp, crayfish...

as really bigass insects.

Frankly, I don't see much difference between eating a beetle or a lobster, except for the amount of meat. As long as lobsters are still around, though...

Hunter-gatherers have found insects to be a reliable source of complete protein when the hunting isn't so good. The herdsmen and farmers give 'em up when they find they can control their grains and meat.

Not everyone gives them up, though. I knew a superb Chinese chef with a marvelous restaurant who regularly whipped up some specialities for the family. One day, I stopped in just as he was opening and found him with a razor blade cutting the legs and heads off of a huge plate of some kind of millipede. Quite a delicacy, he told me, after being properly prepared and cooked up. Too bad I never got a chance to try them-- they were for some special celebration when he was closed.