So what bug would you try to eat first? Crickets and grasshoppers have a high amount of protein for their size, so you should consider eating them first. Better yet — eat them now so that you'll be prepared if an emergency happens. It's never too late to learn all that you can to be ready for whatever comes your way!

Challenge for every person in a survival situation — Starve or eat insects and survive? Insects are plentiful. Many are safe to eat. Many are nutritious. Here are a few bugs to know about and how to catch and prepare them.

For many the idea of eating insects is on the same level as eating something poisonous. You just don't do it.
Many people are shocked to discover that actually a large variety of insects are safe to eat — a few of these insects are dangerous though — such as the Goliath Bird Eating Spider of Venezuela, which is a tarantula the size of a dinner plate.

At what point would you be finally willing to set aside your long held distaste for insects and finally see insects as something that can keep you and your family alive in an emergency or disaster?

Did you know that 80% of the world's population consumes insects as part of their daily diet?

Eating Insects in an Emergency
In North America we have the means to live and survive off the land should the time come that we are either a) lost in the wilderness or b) facing a time of widespread disaster where grocery stores have closed their doors, empty and looted due to massive food shortages.

If grocery stores close due to a massive food shortage resulting from a critical breakdown in our nation's infrastructure, America will likely see something much worse than what we first faced in the Great Depression.
And we expect it to be worse than that? Yes. The population today is so much bigger than it was in the 1920s and early 30s — there will be more people fighting over food scraps. Scraps will disappear quickly. And then what? Millions of hungry people growing hungrier and more desperate each day.

The Top 10 Edible Insects in North America
What are the top ten insects that are safe to eat in North America and that can usually be easily found.
These are insects you can even consider caging, raising, and harvesting.

Crickets and Grasshoppers
Crickets and grasshoppers contain calcium as well as a high ratio of protein for their size (20.6 grams of protein for every 100 grams of insects). Eat them raw or cooked — but like most insects they'll probably go down a lot easier when they've been cooked.

Locusts
Locusts are a term used to describe crickets and grasshoppers when they form swarms, meaning they travel in large numbers and have been known to devastate crops and terrorize farmers. In some parts of the world locusts are eaten as a staple — in fact when these swarms take place people are known to sweep them up into bags for later consumption.

Caterpillars (moth / butterfly larvae)
Of all the edible insects, caterpillars surprised me the most. There's something about these hairy or hairless bugs that just doesn't seem that palatable, yet they're reported to be quiet healthy, containing high amounts of protein, very little fat, iron, plenty of B-vitamins like niacin and thiamine. Here's where the data seems to be incomplete or just not fully published on the subjects of caterpillars. Some are reported to be toxic but the sources I found failed to list just which ones were safe to eat and which ones aren't.

Ants
Ants are edible — though not all ants are friendly. Some, like fire ants, can bite. If a lot of them get on you those bites can be painful. When it comes to ants, you just need a way to safely scoop them into a container (which means typically digging into an ant hill) and then a way to shake them free of any soil that is also scooped up. When you've figured out a way to separate them from the soil, boil them in a shallow pan. Boiling removes a vinegar taste they have when eaten raw.

June Bugs
June Bugs are actually a common species of beetle. Some of the largest have been found living alive and well in populated cities like Santa Fe, Albuquerque, and strangely Denver, CO. I've seen plenty of these guys around in my day (usually the smaller ones) and they're reported to be edible — even a tasty snack when grilled or cooked over a fire.

Termites
At the same time pay close attention to any downed trees, decaying logs, and stumps that may contain termites. Like caterpillars and many other bugs, termites are also high in protein. Of course because they're small you'll have to eat quite few.

Centipedes
How many times have you flipped over a log or large rock to see a centipede skitter away? One of the fastest meals when you're lost in a forest is going to be a centipede. While you're looking for termite logs and tree stumps keep an eye out for other outcroppings you'll likely find centipedes hiding under.

Mealworms
Hatched from eggs laid by darkling beetles, a common beetle in North America, mealworms are nutritious and a staple of primitive cultures. There are over 1400 species of darkling beetles in North America.

Scorpions
You'll typically find scorpions in the southern desert areas of the United States though they are common in other parts of the world as well. You can raise scorpions for later harvesting or you can hunt for them outdoors by looking for small holes under rocks, trees, tree limbs, or other outcroppings in the soil.

With a sharp stick you can poke right through its side; remove the scorpion from the bottle and pin it down; take a large knife and cut away it's tail; that's the part that will sting you and is venomous. Be sure to bury the stinger. No sense in getting stung because you got careless. Scorpions are said to be best eaten roasted over a fire or grilled in a pan, but they can also be eaten raw. These are a delicacy in many places and popular with a lot of people.

Bees / Wasps (wasp larvae)
Bees and wasps are a daily part of our life — when the weather warms the windows and doors open and before you know it in flies an insect you'd rather not have around the house.

My recommendation is if you're going to use that technique to look for edible wasp larvae, you should do this: Build a big fire and use a lot of smoke … use more smoke than you think you need … smoke those wasps out for a few hours if that's what it takes. No sense in rushing it and getting stung by a bunch of wasps because you didn't do a good job smoking them out of the nest. This is one of those things where you need to read between the lines.

How do you tie a thread around a bee or wasp? Have fun with that one. The Japanese did it.

Signs that Insects Aren't Safe to Eat
Experts say that insects with bright colors like red, orange and yellow aren't safe to eat, though some edible insects are disguised by these colors as part of their natural markings. Due to the danger of eating poisonous insects, it's best to just swear off red, orange, and yellow bugs.

On the other hand black, brown, and green are typically colors of insects that are safe to eat.

Preparing Insects
Some insects may have snacked on something not very palatable to humans and now the remnants of that last meal reside inside them. This can make the insect a bit less tasty as well as possibly upset your stomach and possibly even cause sickness. There's a way around that though — which is to round up insects and place them in a small cage and then feed them grain for a couple days. That's said to clear out the remnants of whatever they ate last and even improve their taste a notch.

It's pretty incredible that bugs carry so much protein and can actually be a great source of nutrition, in addition to helping you survive in the wilderness.

If you're in a survival situation, you can do it. Hey, maybe you'll even like eating bugs. Visit Secrets of Survival to read more about these bugs in depth and how to cook and eat them.