Updated on 13 October 2026. The original 2007 post is kept below.
From plague to plate
Locusts are grasshoppers that, under the right conditions, switch from living alone to travelling in huge swarms that can wipe out crops. In Nigeria, as the BBC reported back in 2007, people fought back with a frying pan: the fried locusts were nicknamed “desert shrimp”.
Locusts and grasshoppers are eaten in many other places too, from Mexico’s crunchy chapulines to roadside snacks in Southeast Asia, so Nigeria is in good company. They’re not unusual in the bug world. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization says grasshoppers, locusts and crickets are among the most commonly eaten insects in the world. Many of them are high in protein and minerals.
More crunchy snacks: giant roasted ants and scorpions on a stick.
From the 2007 original
In Nigeria the resourceful locals have turned the annual disaster that the locust used to cause to the crops, to an annual banquet.
After deep frying, The locust supposedly tastes pretty much like real shrimp.
Source: news.bbc.co.uk
