Eating invasive species news and notes from around the internet!

• Giant African land snail stew!  (Though it turns out the suspect was not GALS)
• Considering nutria stew and fur coats in Louisiana.
• The Examiner takes a look at eating invasive species
• Invasive species reporting app now available for the Great Lakes region!
• And our video of the week: zebra mussel sniffing dogs!

Guest contributor Karen Uy shares a recipe for a popular Filipino snack food best enjoyed while indulging in your favorite beer.

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. June beetles
• 1 cup vinegar (recommended: sugarcane vinegar)
• 3 heads of garlic
• 1 tsp. whole peppercorn
• ½ cup of soy sauce

Directions

1. Soak beetles in salt water overnight in refrigerator.
2. Drain. Remove and discard head, legs, and carapace, and rinse bodies well.
3. Sautee all ingredients together in a pan until boiling
4. Simmer 1 hour over low heat.
5. Remove from heat and let cool 1 hour before eating.
6. Optional: add an additional deep fry for maximum crunch and easy eating! Garnish with garlic.

June Beetles. Photo Credit: Karen Uy

Eating invasive species news and notes from around the internet!

• Malicious but delicious in Austin, Texas
• Miami chefs cook up invasive lionfish
• Smoked python is also on the menu in Miami

Each year in Batangas, Philippines, a festival is held to help eradicate a major crop pest.  Guest contributor Karen Uy describes the festival, which centers on a cooking contest with a unique featured ingredient: June beetles (Leucopholis irrorata), or as locals call them, salagubang.  

I was first introduced to this insect as a young city girl living in Manila, Philippines.  At the time, I sincerely believed insects belong crushed to death under flip flops and never in one’s mouth.  So when my mother served beetles sautéed in soy sauce, my first thought was “No Way!”  After a long consideration, I decided to try one as a dare. To my surprise, the dare became an awakening experience as I realized eating the bugs was fun and tasty!  And, as the people of Batangas celebrate, eating June beetles provides a fun way to help manage an important pest.

In the Philippines, the salagubang is considered a serious pest of upland crops such as sugarcane and rice causing over 97 million peso (US $2 million) damage annually.  June beetles grow underground as grubs until they are 16-30 mm long, then emerge after the first rain of the season.  Therefore, entire plants are threatened as larvae feed on roots while adults eat leaves.  June beetles are strongly attracted to light and therefore could be caught using a light trap.  Be sure that what you collect to eat has not been exposed to harmful pesticides.

June beetles are also found in the US, and they are just as edible.  Although the bugs aren’t considered invasive in the US, the idea of eating other insects as a way to control populations may be worth serious consideration.

In fact, insects may represent a preferable protein source compared to meat because they have almost no fat and are packed with protein and other minerals.  For example, 100 grams of June beetles have ~13.4 g protein, 6 mg iron, and 22.6 mg calcium while lean ground beef has 27 g of protein, 3.5 mg iron, and no calcium.  The Batangas Salagubang festival is a reminder of a sustainable future where we can turn a negative into a belly-full of positive.

A table full of June Beetles, ready to be eaten! Photo Credit: Karen Uy

Eating invasive species news and notes from around the internet!

• Popular Mechanics revisits the Caribbean- is eating lionfish working?
• And speaking of lionfish, here’s a nice analogy: lionfish in the gulf are like a living oil spill
• Giant African land snails have been in the news lately for their large numbers (and bodies!) in Florida.  Perhaps we can eat them?
• A New York Times op-ed provides another call-to-arms for eating invasive species

Eating invasive species news and notes from around the internet!

• Autumn Berry Inspired, a start-up marketing products made from invasive autumn olives, earned a new home in Chicago
• North Carolina is the site of the next fishing derby aimed at taming invasive lionfish
• What to forage as you head back out to the garden this spring

Eating invasive species news and notes from around the internet!

• In New England, invasive green crabs have become invasivores themselves!
• The USDA has declared April as Invasive Plant Pest and Disease Awareness Month.  Check out hungrypests.com for more info!

Do the winter blues have you feeling down? Brighten up your spring by throwing this tropical invader on your barbecue! The IUCN’s 100 worst alien species list has a lone primate member, Macaca fascicularis, otherwise known as the crab-eating or long-tailed macaque. While native to much of Southeast Asia, these guys have gained notoriety as pests throughout their introduced range, particularly on islands such as Mauritius where the monkeys have wreaked ecological havoc. Long-tailed macaques thrive especially well in disturbed edge, forest habitat, which is often plentiful given historic and continuing human impacts on the natural landscape.

Don’t those big hazel eyes make you want to just eat her up? Photo credit Amy Klegarth.

As such, to ring in spring, invasivores shouldn’t have to go further than their own backyard to nab one of these delicious distant cousins. Because macaques often raid garbage cans or steal food from open lunchboxes, they come ‘pre-flavored’ with hints of potato chips and energy drinks. Try marinating the monkey chops in tangy fruit juice -a blend of mango and pineapple works best-and rub in some red pepper when the chops are on the grill to add extra spice. Serve over rice with a side of fried plantains for a feast that will make you the talk of the neighborhood…

A macaque finishing off a bag of snacks from a dumpster.

A long-tailed macaque looks for a researcher’s lunch. Photo credit Amy Klegarth.

…at least until next year’s April Fool’s Day!

Eating invasive species news and notes from around the internet!

• Record-setting snakehead caught in Florida
• Dramatic impact of feral pigs in Oklahoma
• Festival targets invasive cichlids in Louisiana
• Minnesota Department of Natural Resources offering invasive species volunteer training in April
• Editor Matt Barnes and collaborators have been developing new tools for detecting invasive species

Eating invasive species news and notes from around the internet!

Carp Madness fishing tournament fights Asian carp in Kentucky.

Dying loons in Lake Michigan provide a nice example of why you should exercise caution before eating invasive species.

Invasive Species Advisory Committee meetings cancelled due to federal budget sequestration.