Tessaratomidae nymphs make their home in most woody areas of northeast Thailand and breed during the rainy season. There, they are a highly coveted delicacy and are prepared with typical seasonings like salt and pepper. Nymphs belong to the same family as stink bugs, and while lacking in the same kind of protective mechanism, are similar in build with relatively large bodies and small heads. They have flat thick bodies, and have hard shells for protection (and extra crunch!). Nymphs live off of the sap from young shoots of vegetables. Although they have wings, nymphs are not very gifted fliers, and instead use their wings to scare away smaller insects.

What is it that is so fascinating about the concept of eating bugs? Either way I wasn’t too excited with my assignment: eating tessaratomidae Pygoplatys auropunctatus nymphs. Yum. Upon receiving my “snack,” I shake four of the raisin-sized bugs onto the palm of my hand, hoping for the best. Their thick red-orange bodies, beady eyes and itty-bitty legs are hardly mouth-watering, but I grit my teeth and swallow. The first thing that really hits you after eating a bug is a feeling of extraordinary disbelief. You begin feeling nauseous as you imagine your snack scuttling across a forest floor. To make things worse, I forgot to remove the wings from the first nymph I tried, which resulted in a nauseating mouthful of dry flakes that I could not swallow. However, nymphs aren’t all that bad. They taste just like popcorn husks. It was just the simple fact that they were bugs that made them utterly disgusting. Nasty, tasteless, and about as close to eating sawdust I ever hope to come.