A brief note on edible insects in Ecuador

Abstract

Ecuador still conserves the ancestral tradition of entomophagy, notably in the countryside where the native population is relatively isolated from technological progress. Eighty‐three (83) edible species are listed for the country; none of them are a main dish but many of the insects are used to complement other animal protein sources in the diet. The most common edible insects belong to the orders Coleoptera and Hymenoptera, which are consumed either in the larval or adult stage.