It is mostly made of protein… so yeah, it’s edible. But palatable? Yuck!
I’m reminded of the movie adaptation Papillon… where Steve McQueen is imprisoned on a French Guiana island prison and ends up eating roaches. 
I read something that actually made me wanna try them, if I ever get the chance.
It’s said that it bursts with “umami”, since what’s inside the belly is chemically very similar to sea urchin, shrimp “yellow head stuff”, and snow crabs.
Hmmm…
From what I read. Their benefits do not cover their damages.
Apparently their favorite food is local indigenous spiders, which are only more beneficial and less harm / dangerous. Also, due to the sheer strength of their “silk” and complex structure of their web, they tend to catch a much higher percentage of other natural pest controls, even trapping small birds in some cases.
Bleech. I’ll do without the jumanji and stick with more conventional foods. Like pizza.
I’m trying to cut down on my nægleria consumption, too.
So it is with most invasive species. It’s right there on the label.
The asian ladybug harmonia axyridis pestis has nearly extinguished our native five-point ladybug. Haven’t seen any since a decade or so :(.
Anything stir fried in a wok to a nice crispy crunch is gonna be good—just add some rice and veggies, yum
Great find! I think Americans need to go through a couple of serious famines before we jump on that bandwagon. Any videos of cooking Mole Crabs?
I personally don’t think they even consider it a “substitute” food source. They genuinely find it delicious.
For example: During my time in East Asia. I see locals hunt down Asian Hornets’ nests (those giant black / orange hornets people in US call “killer hornets”). And sell their pupae at twice the price of domestic grass-fed beef, or 3-4 times the price of imported beef from South America or Australia.
I did a little digging, and found in the beginning they hunt them down to protect their bee hives. Then someone tried eating them, then it spread like wild fire that they now have to hunt them “in a sustainable way”, or soon there won’t be any hornets left. It became so profitable that some bee keepers shifted to hornet farming.
They look pretty disturbing even after deep fried. The most sought-after pupae are those ready to hatch. Which means you can already see clearly the eyes and teeth and wings and coloration etc.
But, they taste good. Very good.
As to mole crabs. I believe people in Southeast Asia catch and ferment them into something like fish sauce. If you’ve had authentic Thai food you may have already tasted it without knowing.
Aw that sucks to hear. The articles I saw were so busy being cutesy about the kill-it-with-fire aspect that they failed to mention any of that.
There was a time when lobsters were looked upon as disgusting bottom-feeders and in general society one would NEVER eat a lobster. Meanwhile, those living in poverty or indentured servitude would feast upon them, probably thinking to themselves that this is a best-kept secret.
Still, I’m not about to eat a spider…
If they are so tasty, maybe there will be birds that will develop a taste for them.
One of the reasons why they manage to invade everywhere (they very successfully invaded the entire East Asia before moving to the States) is their extra-tough “silk” and complex, multi-layered net structure. Their net seem to be royal PITA for mid-sized birds and actual nightmare for smaller ones. Which should explain why they’re so vivid in color: It’s not a camouflage it’s a warning sign, much like dart frogs and hornets.
Same with oysters, molluscs are the toilet paper of the sea, oysters used to be plentiful and cheap, hence the po‘boy. So many were eaten here in the south of England we find the shells in the soil everywhere, great heaps of them around the old Roman settlements. I’ve never seen the attraction of sucking up a big salty pile of snot, but people pay top money to do so. Probably be the same with spider abdomens one day.
It’s just our perception of what’s food. Personally I couldn’t rip the legs off spiders and eat the fried bodies, it offends my Western food perception. Nor could I scoop out a sea urchin and eat that yellow stuff inside. But I’m not that hungry just yet, or haven’t adjusted my mind to it.
We had them here in ATL area last year, they were EVERYWHERE! Knock them down and they comeback twice as many. The only thing I found that would stop them is a combo of vinegar, peppermint oil and water.
Spray it on them, the webs and surrounding areas and they would stay away until the next rain. I’d spray it on the windows, doors, porch, deck, stairs, anything outside you didn’t want them on. Plus it smells like peppermint lol.
Creepy spiders that don't harm humans don't scare me much.
I know they're bad for the ecosystem, but if they can't hurt me, I'll just try to ignore them if I see 'em. 
I feel the same way but when you come home from work and there are 15+ spiders with webs that could catch a small cat in them blocking your door, it’s time to take action. :smiling_imp:
I know they’ve been doing all sorts of research into spider web composition, as the strength to weight ratio is so much higher than steel. Given the strength of the webs from these invasive spiders, I wonder if they might look into their web composition.
Quality oysters can be delicious. “Snot!” :laughing: When fresh & from good stock, they’re delicious. And there’s many ways to dress them up (sauces). Of course, to the uninitiated, they look awful. Like these small slips of rock you break open for a dollop of grayish glop. Still, there’s nothing else quite like clams & oysters that you’d encounter. Spiders? So many varieties and contexts, but in the Western hemisphere, never equated with human food. Sure, tastes may eventually change but I expect it’ll be a long way off.
However, what I do expect is that someone will come up with a synthesized protein based on insects that is purely assembled by essential molecules, not extracted from any living insects, and would be suitable for human consumption. Much the way people add protein powder to shakes. Animal protein is going to become a rare thing again, in the future. The insane mass meat production human agriculture has created is simply unsustainable. A century from now, those humans that are still around will look back on history and be aghast at what humans did with food in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
I really like your natural defense solution for those spiders. And I agree… so many webs like that? Unacceptable. Besides, even if some die… they’re too many of them!
The first month or so they were here I’d spend up to an hour killing the ones I saw, usually more than 60 of them everyday. I just got tired of doing it and saw the spray suggested on FB. When they show up now, 10 min or so spraying and that takes care of them.
Bonus, it acts as a marinade, as a sort of head-start when deep-frying ’em.
Yeah, no. :confounded: