ABSTRACT
Reference
Tukanoans, Colombia May-June 12% men, 26% women Dufour, 1987 Piaroa, Cuao river, Venezuela
yearly 8% Zent, 1992
Guajibo, Alcabala de Guajibo, Venezuela
Rainy season 60%-70% Paoletti et al., 2001
All the references to entomophagy in the Amazon Basin found in the literature were compiled and added to our unpublished observations and fieldwork dur ing the period 1994-2002 in Alto Orinoco, Venezuela, and Ecuador. Data from classical works such as Wallace (1853,1889) and Bodenheimer (1951) were also included but the focus was on more recent literature and personal communica tions from anthropologists actively working in the region (Paoletti et al., 2001). The references included met the following criteria: (1) the author(s) provided taxonomic identifications for the invertebrates discussed, or a sufficiently de tailed description of the morphology and ecology of the organisms that they could be tentatively identifed at least to order and family; (2) the author(s) iden tified the group of people involved. Not included was the literature containing only general or superficial reports of entomophagy (innumerable), or references to entomophagy providing only local names (ethno names) and not the associ ated Linnean taxonomic names or the Amerindian group involved. With regard to the latter we made several exceptions. One was the larvae of the many woodboring insects consumed by Amerindians. These proved very difficult to iden tify and in some cases are locally given a few collective names. For instance, makoia, for the Yanomamo refers to the larvae of potentially hundreds of xilophagous beetles (Scarabaeidae, maybe also Buprestidae and Cerambycidae). The second exception was caterpillars, consumed in abundance by Amerindians, but for which we had much difficulty in obtaining taxonomic identifications. For example, from Yanomamo interviewees we obtained a list of 25 edible
caterpillars and their host plants, but even with the assistance of expert taxono mists, have only been able to properly identify one (Table 15.2). Interestingly, it appears that Yanomamo caterpillar taxonomy is more advanced than Western. At present, most of the caterpillars have only ethno names and in a few cases family names. The third exception was cases in which only honey, or propolis and wax are the products gathered, and the consumption of brood and pupae is not specifically mentioned.
