A BRIEF NOTE ON EDIBLE INSECTS IN ECUADOR

Ecuador still conserves the ancestral tradition of entomophagy, notabl y in the countryside where the native population is relatively isolate d from technological progress. Eighty-three (83) edible species are Li sted for the country; none of them are a main dish but many of the ins ects are used to complement other animal protein sources in the diet. The most common edible insects belong to the orders Coleoptera and Hym enoptera, which are consumed either in the larval or adult stage.