Asia

Abstract

From a zoogeographical and ecological point of view, Asia is not one but a number of continents. From the Arctic Circle of Siberia and from the tundras, taigas, steppes and deserts of Central Asia we have almost no information on insect-eating habits, apart from a few notes on curiosities. Possibly insect food was actually of little or no importance. Hunters in regions richly stocked with game have little need of additional food and this holds also for highly specialized nomads. The remainder of Asia may be divided roughly into three major sections. The Middle East, a zoogeographical mixture, offers as a very old centre of highly specialized agriculture and animal husbandry neither in its historical development nor in its present condition much inducement to entomophagy. The occasional locust swarms are eagerly acclaimed by the nomads, but certainly not by the fellahs. Wild honey is utilized wherever it may be available, and bee-keeping itself has been long established. The various mannas are more a curiosity than a source of food.