Investigation on the Edible Sago Weevils in Papua New Guinea

Abstract

 Entomophagy of Papua New Guinea, especially on sago weevils, was investigated. The weevil was identified as Rhynchophorus ferrugineus. People in the study villages of East Sepik Province collect the weevil larvae from the pith of sago palms which are left for several months after cutting down. The people, especially children, like to swallow the living larvae. A popular local cuisine is a stew made by cooking the larvae with coconut milk, salt, sodium glutamate, onion, aibika (a kind of vegetable), and mushroom. The chemical composition of the larva was 73.4% of water, 6.9% of protein, 8.5% of carbohydrate, 11.3% of fat and 0.7% of ash. Amino acid analyses revealed that tryptophan was deficient in free and protein-constituting amino acids. Biological characteristics of the sago weevils their utilization are discussed.