Traditional Values of Caterpillars (Insecta: Lepidoptera) Among the Bisa People of Zambia

Abstract

The traditional values of caterpillars to the Bisa people of northern Zambia were assessed through a questionnaire survey involving 104 households from 24 villages. Information validation was by Participatory Rural Appraisal, Focus Group Discussions, caterpillar collection and identification. Caterpillars of eight Saturniidae moth species are valued very highly by the Bisa. Six of these were collected and identified from the miombo woodlands of the study area. The harvesting of Gynanisa maja, Gonimbrasia belina, Cirina forda, Imbrasia epimethea, I. rubra and Imbrasia sp. caterpillars by local people, provides an alternative source of dietary animal protein and is associated with several cultural and spiritual processes and beliefs which bind the people together as one tribe. Edible caterpillars are bartered and sold at markets, enabling the local people to gain access to goods and services that normally are out of their reach. An individual collector processed 11.5 kg of sun-dried edible caterpillars worth Zambian Kwacha (ZK) 172 600 (US$ 52) during the caterpillar-harvesting period in 1999, while a household averaging six members processed 69.1 kg caterpillars worth ZK 1 036 098 (US$ 309). The income generated from sales of edible caterpillars far outstripped that generated from the sale of agricultural produce. Estimates of household incomes for 1999, an edible-caterpillar bumper harvest year, and the Bisa traditional edible-caterpillar management system are discussed.