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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Environment
Femi Ezhuthupallickal Benny and Thejavikho Chase

‘We’ve been eating it for more than 100 years’: how one community turns stink bug infestations into lunch

India Mizoram Oil
A cupped hand full of stink bugs over a pot
The bugs can be ground into a thick paste that is used to make two valuable products. Photograph: Thejavikho Chase

Every few years when Udonga montana, a bamboo-feeding stink bug, erupts in massive swarms, the people of the Mizo community in northern India don’t reach for pesticides. Instead, they look for baskets.

Locally, this small brown stink bug is called thangnang. Outsiders see them as an infestation but in the bamboo forests of Mizoram state this small brown bug has long been woven into the food culture.

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