Curious about how to eat bugs? You’re in the right place.
I’ll be your host as we explore the alternative world of critter cuisine — from live tasting events and the Cooking with Critters series, to guides like this one on Bugible.com.
Whether you’re bug-curious or bug-brave, my mission is simple: to open minds and mouths to a healthier, yummier, more sustainable future. 🦗🍄
Insects aren’t the only solution to our global food challenges — but they’re a big (and surprisingly tasty) part of it. And more importantly, they spark the right kind of questions: What are we eating? Where does it come from? How can we do better?
This guide will walk you through how to eat bugs safely and deliciously — with tips on sourcing, prep, and making your first bite an adventure worth remembering.
Because sometimes, to make a big impact on the future… we have to think smaller. 🐜
If you’re new here, I recommend you begin by reading through Bugible’s FAQ page.
How to Eat Bugs - taste
Ant Eggs (Escamoles)
Taste: Buttery, nutty, grassy, soil-y flavor (imparted by the ants’ diet of herbs and grass). The taste is creamy with a lovely soft texture like butter.
Notes: Some compare ant eggs to caviar.
Bamboo Worms
Taste: Often eaten fried in Thailand, these Grass Moth larvae eat their way through bamboo before metamorphosing. Strangely, the first word I would use to describe the taste of bamboo worms is “cold.” The texture is unique; buttery, mildly fishy or cheesy. Some people pick up a blueberry aftertaste. Other tasting notes: macadamia, flowery, or burnt parmesan.
Wine: Buttery Chardonnay: A buttery Chardonnay keeps the spice and flavor intensity low, while accentuating the creamier buttery flavors and textures of the food it is paired with. Try a buttery Chardonnay with bamboo worms to highlight the soft flavors present.
Black Ants
Taste: Black ants are a little oily; a bit like roe. The texture they leave over is a little like edible charcoal, blackberry seed, or currants. The flavor is described as lemon-pepper, with a zesty, citrus pop. With one of the more surprising flavors, people often think that plain black ants have been seasoned. Instead, black ants are naturally acidic due to the formic acid in their systems.
Wine: Peppery Syrah: Darker than a Cabernet Sauvignon, and with its massive full-bodied taste, Syrah pairs great with bold foods. The trick is to bring out the subtle nuances in the wine. We love how black ants can bring out the perfect peppery nuances of the right Syrah to make the flavor pop.
Bees (& Larvae)
Taste: I’ve LONG heard tales of the wonderful taste of bee larva. The edible larvae and pupae of honey bees reportedly have a nutty flavor with a crunchy texture when cooked or grilled. Some compare them to mushroomy bacon. The bee population is in decline and I did not have access to try the larvae for myself until my first trip to Texas, when someone brought leftover honeycomb. The raw bee larvae tasted like roe without the saltiness.
Wine: Coming soon.
Black Soldier Fly Larvae
Taste: These incredible insects are nutty, buttery, and delicious.
Wine: Coming soon.
Crickets
Taste: Crickets are often described as flavor vehicles, much like unseasoned potato chips or nuts. They are often seasoned with flavors like BBQ or lime, as their plain taste can be difficult to distinguish. Unseasoned, they taste a bit like edamame and have an earthy, umami quality. Crickets are often compared to soybeans or various nuts. Regardless, a nutty, woodsy, earthy flavor comes through.
Wine: Pinot Noir: Pinot Noir is often called the ‘catch-all’ pairing wine. Pinot Noir is light enough for salmon but complex enough to hold up to some richer meat including duck. It’s versatile nature lends well to the earthy, often seasoned, flavors of roasted crickets. Pinot Noirs can also elevate the funkiness that we taste in crickets.
Diving Beetles
Taste: I’ve tried to eat a diving beetle whole, and I do not recommend it. Typically, one removes the hard, chitinous outer wings and then consumes everything except for the head. Doing so, I felt a bit like I was conducting a dissection of the critter, but I reminded myself that it was not dissimilar to picking the meat off of crab legs and was certainly less gruesome than my peeling apart of the chicken carcass I prepared the other week. The ‘meat’ of the diving beetle has a very strong, sharp nutty flavor. The aroma is earthy and has a soil quality to it.
Wine: Coming soon.
Giant Water Bugs
Taste: Let me start by saying these are delicious and mellow, best compared to big pumpkin seeds. The meat inside the water bug’s body is often compared to sweet scallops. The head has hints of anise. On the far ends of the spectrum, I’ve heard a comparison to clam-flavored potatoes. Others claim a salty, fruity taste (giant water bugs also have the aromatic hydrocarbon compounds that create a slight apple taste for some,) or a mellow gorgonzola. I find them to be most similar to pumpkin seeds, with a subtle seafood note at the end.
Wine: Barbera: You can match the flavors within Barbera to make them stand out. Somehow Barbera wine tastes both rich and light-bodied with the variety of flavors in the Giant Water Bug. While a mildly sweet Riesling could pair well here, as in the case of the shield bug, a Barbera is a bolder choice.
Grasshoppers
Taste: Grasshoppers are often referred to by their Spanish name Chapulines. When seasoned Oaxacan-style, grasshoppers are a fantastic flavor vehicle for the peppers, spices, and lime. Oaxacan-style grasshoppers will taste of beautiful smokey spices with a hint of sour. Seasoned as such, grasshoppers have a cool lingering heat. They’ve also been compared to bar nuts or green tea.
Wine: Fruity Cabernet Sauvignon: Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the more complex and layered wines out there. It has higher tannins and a savory, fruity character that will work well with the complex flavors and spices in the seasoned grasshoppers.
June Beetles
Taste: June beetles are across the board, in my experience. The smaller June beetles I’ve sampled are slightly acidic with a metallic finish. They have a mustier flavor, similar to mushroom, liver, or even wet dog. The larger June beetles take on a much more savory profile, like buttery walnuts. These buggers, if salted and dehydrated, have a bacon-laden umami with a sour-jerky finish.
Wine: Earthy Nebbiolo: Upon tasting Nebbiolo you will experience leathery, gripping high tannin that seems to make your mouth stick to itself. Despite its gripping tannin, the other flavors of the Nebbiolo – rose, cherry, leather, and clay pot – can still shine through. This is a wine that can stand up to the sharp, unexpected twists of a June beetle in all its musty, sour-jerky flavor idiosyncrasies.
Locusts
Taste: Locusts are often described as an exotic bar snack and are often flavored with BBQ or salt. They make a savory dish that can taste a bit like sunflower seeds (sometimes with a hint of shrimpiness.) They are chewier and more fibrous than crickets. They have a slightly bitter smell – similar to hay or a molasses lollipop. The sourness/bitterness is the kind picked up from dried grass – not a tartness. Locusts have a subtle spicy, nuttiness coupled with a sweetness and an earthiness, but these flavors are all quite muted. Toward the end, the fibers in locusts give them a super concentrated gummy texture that feels like chewing gum. It should be noted that locust legs are quite sharp and avoided.
Wine: Coming soon.
Meal-worms
Taste: Affectionately known to many in the entomophagy community as the gateway bug, mealworms are probably one of the first edible insects people ever try, mainly because they are super easy to raise, they have a great nutrition profile, and they taste really good (if you’re a fan of roasted nuts.) They are nutty in taste with a light, crunch texture. The aroma is earthy, similar to parsnips pulled fresh from the ground. When seasoned, they can be likened to crispy onions.
Wine: Pinot Noir: Any time you can have an earthy-fatty dish using mushrooms it will always highlight the fruitiness of Pinot Noir. Similarly, pairing a Pinot Noir with crickets is common practice.
Weaver Ants
Taste: Dried Weaver Ants are mild in flavor. They only have a slightly sour taste and have been described as vaguely salty, similar to corn nuts, sweet nuts, Cheezits, or even hay. They are slightly salty and aromatic, with a crunchy texture. They are light like peanut skin, bark dust, wood chip dust, earth, dry tea, dehydrated tea, or other herbal comparisons. Weaver ants have a subtle, light, vegetal flavor.
Wine: Herbaceous Sauvignon Blanc: Sauvignon Blanc, with its herbaceous notes, pairs well with similar green herbs. Sauvignon Blanc is light-bodied, but it has higher acidity than other white wines, and is a great congruent pairing with weaver ants. This light wine doesn’t overshadow the subtle vegetal qualities of the weaver ants.
Rhino Beetles
Taste: Let me just start with the disclaimer that I usually use Rhino Beetles at dinners and wine pairings as what I refer to as “social media fodder.” I cook much less frequently with these fellas compared to crickets, mealworms, grasshoppers, etc. But they are visually stunning and encourage guests to share photos of their experience. The provocative appearance of the Rhino Beetle makes it perfect for getting the word out about edible bugs. These fellas have two huge horns that are quite hard. I often joke that trying to chew a Rhino Beetle is like trying to chew a fingernail (Me? Bite my nails? Never!) I’ll be honest – they’re not my favorite. But some folks like the taste and say they smell slightly like cocoa beans. The bodies are thick and have leathery wings. Unseasoned, the Rhino Beetle has been described as stale beef jerky. Unsurprisingly, the larvae are more palatable than the hard exoskeletons of the adult beetles and much more commonly eaten.
Wine: Coming soon.
Sago Grubs
Taste: Sago grubs, sometimes called palm grubs, are creamy when raw and sweet when fried. Many claim they have a distinct taste that is a bit like bacon. They do have a more savory, fatty quality than crickets or mealworms (which are more nutty or mushroomy.) When dried, they take on an aroma closer to jerky, dull ham, or prosciutto than bacon. They have a natural oil (from all the healthy fats) and the flavor has what I like to call “staying power.” On the first bite, a dried sago grub will have a pleasant nuttiness. But this can become overwhelming as the flavor progresses into an aromatic overcooked bacon. The texture is reminiscent of a milky marbleization on a steak. In my experience, those that like dried sago grubs really like them, and those that do not like the grubs really find them unappetizing.
Wine: Coming soon.
Scorp-ions
Taste: Scorpions are one of my favorite bugs. Fun fact – they are not insects but, rather, arachnids. There’s something about them that makes them alluring to guests at many of my events; I’ve come to believe their coolness factor out-weights their scary factor. I have to admit that I loved them so much in my early years in the bug space that I actually got a small scorpion tattoo… don’t tell my mom. I refer to them lovingly as little land lobsters, and depending on the preparation method, that description might not be far off from the truth. Prepared in certain ways (pan seared with a little olive oil, salt, pepper, lemon…) they’re known to taste like lobsters or soft-shelled crab. Think: shrimp, but with a nutty edge. They have a similar strong, buttery flavor. Dried, they have an herbal quality to them and a progressive medicinal/anise taste that has best been compared to raw vegetables.
Wine: Buttery Chardonnay
Shield Bugs
Taste: Shield bugs are naturally high in oils; their aromatic hydrocarbons create a hint of apple-flavor at the finish. I find sunflower seeds to be the most appropriate flavor and texture comparison to shield bugs. They also have a savory quality to them, like ground beef or peanut skins. Shield bugs are perhaps better known by the term: stink bugs.
Wine: Mildly Sweet Riesling: Traditionally, most Riesling wines are on the sweeter end of the spectrum, in order to balance the wine’s high acidity. This aromatic wine offers primary fruit aromas of orchard fruits like honey-crisp apple and pears. Besides fruit, you’ll often smell things like jasmine or diesel fuel. A mildly sweet Riesling can compliment the sweet, savory notes in the shield while possibly bringing out the apple notes.
Silk-worm Pupae
Taste: Many people love silkworm marinated in chili and garlic sauce, and in Korea they form a staple dish called Bon Daegi. While many bugs I serve conjure familiar tastes (like, “Oh – this reminds me of a pumpkin seed or that tastes a bit mushroom-y), the silkworm pupae consistently leave guests perplexed and saying, “I’m really not able to place this flavor. It’s not like anything I’ve had before.” Mikey – our wine expert known for nailing flavor with flowery language – has described silkworm pupae as slightly tasting like a fish store smells, but more overwhelmingly like a big mouthful of concrete. They have a few vague flavor notes similar to a dusting of cracked black pepper. Others draw a comparison to corn nuts, with the silkworm pupae’s dry, grainy quality. They do noticeably smell like BBQ potato chips.
Wine: Coming soon.
Tarant-ulas
Taste: Those able to conquer their fears will be rewarded with the beautiful flavor profiles in tarantulas. They taste somewhat like an earthy crab, which is not too surprising given that insects and arachnids are from the same taxonomic phylum: ARTHROPODA. It is important to note that while tarantula legs and bodies have a subtle fishiness to them, they have very distinct flavors. While the thorax is on my not-so-appealing list, tasting a bit “buggy” and ‘off-scallopy’ – sometimes with a strange soft texture, tarantula legs are pretty high on my love-this-bug list. The legs are mushroom-like, but not at all in an earthy/dirt way. Mikey – our wine and cheese expert – sees their flavor as more similar to porcini, a sweeter, less meaty mushroom popular in Italy around September. I find the legs to be similar to plain ‘ol really, really good beef jerky, with subtle miso soup notes. An important reminder: as tarantulas can be quite hairy, it’s recommended that you take a lighter to their bodies and legs to torch the hairs off before serving.
Wine: Coming soon.
Centi-pedes
Taste: Centipedes are another bug that I need to learn how to cook properly. My thoughts: if I’m not a fan of a flavor, I just have not used it right. Bigger ones have a “chemically-taste-quality” to them. But you can disguise it.
Wine: Coming soon.
Cicadas
Taste: These soft-shelled-crab-esque critters have the taste of asparagus (esp. the soft shelled.) The ones to really go for are the ones that have just crawled out the ground. It takes them a while to harden their body armor.
Wine: Coming soon.
Termites
Taste: Before readers become too attached to the fun flavors that termites offer, I must add the caveat that termites are not as environmentally sustainable as other bugs are. In fact, they produce methane much like cows do. These critters are often eaten raw, straight out of the mound in places like Kenya (where they are tricked out of their mounds with a drumming sound that mimics rain,) or collected when they get their wings and swarm to find mates. They are loaded with protein and all nine essential amino acids, making them a familiar dish in many regions throughout the African Southeast Asian continents. Termites are commonly eaten live and juicy or dry-roasted. They have a high oil content relative to the size of their body and are quite tasty, with a flavor described as slightly nutty, buttery, or woodsy. The flavor will vary, of course, depending on the type of termite eaten.
Wine: Coming soon.
Horn-worms
Taste: Coming Soon (next how to eat bugs)
Mopane Worms
Taste: Coming Soon
Wax Worms
Taste: Coming Soon
Hornet Eggs
Taste: Coming Soon
