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The witchetty grub (also spelled witchety grub or witjuti grub) is a term used in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
for the large, white, wood-eating larva
A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle.
The ...
e of several moth
Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...
s. In particular, it applies to the larvae of the cossid moth ''Endoxyla leucomochla
''Endoxyla leucomochla'' is a species of cossid moth endemic to Australia. The larva of the moth is commonly known as the "witchetty grub", and is widely used as bush tucker by Indigenous Australians.witchetty bush (after which the grubs are named) that is widespread throughout the
The different larvae are said to taste similar, probably because they have similar wood-eating habits. Edible either raw or lightly cooked in hot ashes, they are sought as a high-protein food by Aboriginal Australians. The raw witchetty grub tastes similar to almonds, and when cooked, the skin becomes crisp like roast chicken, while the inside becomes light yellow, like a fried egg.
These grubs live in trees. They can also be found in
Witchetty Grub
on Australian Insects {{Insects in culture Insect common names Polyphyletic groups Australian Aboriginal bushcraft Australian cuisine Bushfood Cerambycidae Edible insects Insects of Australia Lepidoptera and humans Australian Aboriginal words and phrases Insects in culture
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...
and also typically found in parts of Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
and South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
, although it is also found elsewhere throughout Australia.
The term may also apply to larvae of other cossid moths, ghost moths (Hepialidae
The Hepialidae are a family of insects in the lepidopteran order. Moths of this family are often referred to as swift moths or ghost moths.
Taxonomy and systematics
The Hepialidae constitute by far the most diverse group of the infraorder Exopo ...
), and longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae
The longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae), also known as long-horned or longicorns, are a large family of beetles, with over 35,000 species described. Most species are characterized by extremely long antennae, which are often as long as or longer than ...
). The term is used mainly when the larvae are being considered as food. The grub is the most important insect food of the desert and has historically been a staple in the diets of Aboriginal Australians
Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Islands ...
.
Terminology
TheArabana
The Arabana, also known as the Ngarabana, are an Aboriginal Australian people of South Australia.
Name
The older tribal Exonym and endonym, autonym was Ngarabana, which may have been misheard by white settlers as Arabana, the term now generall ...
term for the grub is (with emphasis on initial syllables); means grub, and refers to the shrub, not the grub itself. Similarly, Ngalea peoples referred to the grub as "mako wardaruka", meaning grubs of the wardaruka (''Acacia ligulata
''Acacia ligulata'' is a species of ''Acacia'', a dense shrub widespread in all states of mainland Australia. It is not considered rare or endangered.
Common names include sandhill wattle, umbrella bush, marpoo, dune wattle, small coobah,Cunning ...
'') shrub. The Pitjantjatjara
The Pitjantjatjara (; or ) are an Aboriginal people of the Central Australian desert near Uluru. They are closely related to the Yankunytjatjara and Ngaanyatjarra and their languages are, to a large extent, mutually intelligible (all are vari ...
name is "maku".
It has been suggested that the word "witchetty" comes from the Adynyamathanha word , meaning "hooked stick", and , meaning "grub". Traditionally, it is rare for people to dig for them.
Description
The different larvae are said to taste similar, probably because they have similar wood-eating habits. Edible either raw or lightly cooked in hot ashes, they are sought as a high-protein food by Aboriginal Australians. The raw witchetty grub tastes similar to almonds, and when cooked, the skin becomes crisp like roast chicken, while the inside becomes light yellow, like a fried egg.
These grubs live in trees. They can also be found in black wattle
Black wattle is the common name for a number of species of trees that are native to Australia, as listed below:
*''Acacia aulacocarpa''
*''Acacia auriculiformis'', also known as Darwin Black Wattle or northern black wattle;
*''Acacia concurrens ...
trees, and are considered to be the reason why wattles die within 10 to 15 years. The roots of the ''Acacia kempeana
''Acacia kempeana'' (''Acacia'' or ακακία (akakia) from the Greek word ''Akis'' for thorn and ''kempeana'' after Pastor Kempe, co-founder of Lutheran Mission at Hermannburg-Ntaria in 1877), commonly known as wanderrie wattle, witchetty bus ...
'' shrub are another source of the grubs.
When held, as a defence mechanism, the grubs will secrete a brown liquid.
Cultural significance
Witchetty grubs feature as Dreamings in many Aboriginal paintings.See also
*Huhu beetle
The huhu beetle (''Prionoplus reticularis'') is a longhorn beetle endemic to New Zealand. It is the heaviest beetle found in New Zealand.
Māori name
To Māori, the larval form is known as huhu (also tunga haere, tunga rākau) with the adult ...
* Bush tucker
Bush tucker, also called bush food, is any food native to Australia and used as sustenance by Indigenous Australians, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, but it can also describe any native flora or fauna used for culinary or ...
References
External links
*Witchetty Grub
on Australian Insects {{Insects in culture Insect common names Polyphyletic groups Australian Aboriginal bushcraft Australian cuisine Bushfood Cerambycidae Edible insects Insects of Australia Lepidoptera and humans Australian Aboriginal words and phrases Insects in culture