# Nutritional value of mosquitos. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 16, 2007, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nutritional-value-of-mosquitos/411913 "2007-07-16T01:03:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mr.Duality](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.duality/32/4098_2.png) [@Mr.Duality](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Duality)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2007, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nutritional-value-of-mosquitos/411913/1 "2007-07-16T01:03:30Z")
I was at the University of Wyoming Insect Cook-Off several years ago. A lecturer said there is more usable protein in pork than in beef, there’s more in chicken than in pork, and insects have even more than chicken. He gave percentages which I can’t recall. Some bats live largely on mosquitos. In a survival situation could a human get significant nutrition from eating mosquitos? I imagine myself lost in the deep dark woods with every body part covered except my hands and mouth, insanely slapping mosquitos and gobbling them up, yum. So, would it be possible? ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2007, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nutritional-value-of-mosquitos/411913/2 "2007-07-16T01:07:57Z")
Paging Bear Grylls. ---
**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2007, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nutritional-value-of-mosquitos/411913/3 "2007-07-16T16:31:34Z")
While we await the arrival of a dietician whose sphere of interest includes the insectivorous human, maybe [this site](http://www.mosquito.org/mosquito-information/faq.aspx#21) can shed some light on the OP’s query. Among other items of interest it notes that 4oz. mosquitoes comprises 14,000 such insects. The average human being consumes about 7lb. of food and drink per day so, without attempting to compare the relative nutritional benefits of mosquitoes _versus_ pizza and ice cream, I would guess that even for survival purposes quite a lot of mosquitoes would be required to sustain life. On a cautionary note, it might be unwise to spread tabasco sauce on the mosquitoes before consuming same. The consequent digestive problems could be [explosive](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPqdtxIISs8). ---
**Author:** ![groman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@groman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groman)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2007, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nutritional-value-of-mosquitos/411913/4 "2007-07-16T17:11:49Z")
[QUOTE=Chez Guevara] The average human being consumes **about 7lb. of food** and drink per day so, without attempting to compare the relative nutritional benefits of mosquitoes _versus_ pizza and ice cream, I would guess that even for survival purposes quite a lot of mosquitoes would be required to sustain life. [/QUOTE] 😕 I think that figure will be mostly water then. Just guesstimating but I doubt on any individual day I exceed 300 grams of carbohydrates, 300 grams of proteins, or 150 grams of fats a day. A pound and a half average I would guess. A fed mosquito is going to be a few times more nutritious I would presume. So hey, not that it changes the final answer but we just fudged the numbers by an order of magnitude! ---
**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2007, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nutritional-value-of-mosquitos/411913/5 "2007-07-16T17:59:49Z")
A quick search reveals that, from [here](http://www.bisphenol-a.org/human/polyplastics.html), about two thirds into the article, the FDA is reported to quantify the average daily individual food & drink intake at 3000gm (6.6lb). Certainly this figure will comprise a lot of water, a pint of which weighs a fraction over 1lb if I’m not mistaken. An average weight consumption figure for food alone would be useful, albeit tangential to the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2007, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nutritional-value-of-mosquitos/411913/6 "2007-07-16T18:27:48Z")
I recall seeing something on television that Locusts are among the most healthy of foods out there. High in protein, low in fat and carbs. A bit of Googling and you can find recipes for them. In many countries they are a common food source (referred to as desert shrimp as apparently they taste something like shrimp). This is the only link I found that discusses their nutritional benefits: [http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/gen01/gen01234.htm](http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/gen01/gen01234.htm) No idea on mosquitos but I suppose if you had enough of them they could be considered food for a human although since they ingest blood one has to wonder if health issues could arise from consuming them (no idea). IIRC mosquitos kill more humans every year than anything else (disease carriers) so again may nt be healthy to eat for that reason. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Duality](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.duality/32/4098_2.png) [@Mr.Duality](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Duality)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nutritional-value-of-mosquitos/411913/7 "2007-07-17T03:34:49Z")
In a mosquito-infested environment it would seem to be well within the realm of possibility to kill 30 of them per minute. If one hundred mosquitos makes up one gram, in an hour I’d’ve eaten eighteen grams. In four hours I’d have ingested 72 grams of (hopefully) good-quality calories. That’s almost two and one-quarter ounces. Not enough to be comfortable but certainly better than nothing. Couldn’t think of a practical way to leave only my hands & mouth uncovered, but (eureka!) I have a small mirror in my emergency kit which I can use to observe the little vampires when they land on my face. Short distance to the mouth, eh? ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nutritional-value-of-mosquitos/411913/8 "2007-07-17T08:55:41Z")
I remember seeing some TV show showing the harvest of lake flies over Lake Victoria in Uganda. The swarms are so huge they look like smoke. People cruise around in canoes with humongous butterfly nets. The flies are collected and mashed into hamburger patties. Now in previous threads I’ve admitted to eating some pretty strange animal flesh, but I’m not real sure that I’d try the fly patties. I’ve had native foods in sub-Saharan Africa and I have to say, it has been my least favorite foreign cuisine. This [article](http://www.food-insects.com/Vol8%20no1.htm) describes insect eating in Uganda. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nutritional-value-of-mosquitos/411913/9 "2007-07-17T13:08:04Z")
Mosquito larvae were on the Aztec menu. And still available today! I’d heard about a certain restaurant in Mexico City. [Michael Palin](http://www.palinstravels.co.uk/book-484) has visited: > [@](#): > > ‘Poor Mexico,’ wrote Pofirio Diaz, a President in the early 1900s. ‘So far from God, and so close to the United States.’ Though we are not that close to the United States - there’s still fifteen hundred miles between us and the Pacific border at Tijuana - there are times when I feel as though I am already there. There are far more English language newspapers, magazines, TV shows and American fast-food chains here than there ever were in South America. > > The only way to avoid this cultural blur is to get out on the back streets of Mexico City. I’m rewarded by finding a restaurant whose cuisine is not just firmly Mexican, but pre-conquest Mexican. Sandwiched between a butcher and a dry cleaner on a modest square called Plaza Aguila, Fonda Tino specializes in Comida Exotica y PreColombina which turns out to be mainly insects. > > Tino, a huge Hardyesque figure (Oliver Hardy that is), lays a tapas of tiny creatures before me. Maggots, beetles, ants’ eggs, mosquito larvae and baby grasshoppers are set out for my delectation and delight. They are seasoned, cooked in oil and served crispy. > > Tino looms over me as I eat. He watches my face with such anxious concern that I fear that anything less than a ‘Magnificent!’ after the maggots would bring him close to tears. And indeed, once you forget that they are creepy-crawlies and treat them simply as snacks, maggots make rather good grub. I’m sure Rick Bayless has mentioned this aspect of Mexican cuisine. Can Anthony Bourdain be far behind? (Of course, fried crisp & seasoned, I’d be willing to have a taste!)