Entomophagy, the consumption of insects, has attracted interest as a low input
minilivestock with good nutritional value. The inflated stinkbug, Encosternum
delegorguei, is an appetizing food, a hangover cure and a trade item in South
Africa, Malawi and Zimbabwe yet very little is known about it. This study
comprehensively integrates plant aspects (food and shelter) and insect biology
(distribution, life cycle and fecundity) with socio-economic and conservation
aspects. Firstly, E. delegorguei was observed in outdoor insectaries where it
exhibited reproductive winter diapause and declining abdominal fat content
attributed to non-feeding. In spring (September) E. delegorguei fed on
Combretum imberbe, Combretum molle (Combretaceae), Peltophorum africanum
(Fabaceae), and to a lesser degree on Dodonaea viscosa (Sapindaceae) and the
grass Pennisetum clandestinum (Poaceae). Copulation occurred during
October/November but eclosion was reduced by the egg parasitoid wasp,
Anastatus sp. Secondly, structured interview schedules with 106 harvesters
indicated that an estimated total of 3803 + 43.4 kg (mean+S.E.) dry stinkbugs
was harvested with an annual gross per capita income of =US$ 345. In South
Africa stinkbugs are consumed by two locally separate ethnic groups the
Vhavenda and Mapulana, with a third group, the Bolobedu selling them. Ethnic
differences in nomenclature and oral history, methods of collection and
preparation, as well as perceptions pertaining to availability were documented
between the three groups. Damage to host trees occurred when harvesters
poached from pine plantations or private land, whereas, in communal-lands,
sustainable methods proliferated. Using a regional maximum entropy modelling
method (MAXENT) on winter locations of E. delegorguei known to harvesters,
current and future distribution scenarios were identified. Winter precipitation and
to a lesser degree summer precipitation and winter temperature were key climatic
variables limiting the regional distribution of E. delegorguei. Moreover, potential
new sites unknown to harvesters or areas where minilivestock initiatives could be
piloted have been highlighted for further investigation. Opportunities to reduce
impediments to collection and trade are discussed in a sustainable framework.
For example legitimisation of harvesting and introduction of a collection funnel to
reduce conflicts with plantation, orchard and private land managers. Awareness
and optimal use of beneficial bio-resources, such as E. delegorguei, could
encourage community driven habitat stewardship.