General Cycling Discussion - Swallowing bugs. How healthy..

Yesterday, two of use were speeding down a major grade. (Rural, little traffic.) I was screaming to my co-rider.. With my mouth open talking, I swallowed one bug and spit out the other- at different times... The bug I swallowed later left a sort of fragrant taste. So glad I had lots of Gatoraide and lucky enough to have some Dentyne..
So their size felt smaller than flies.. Ever wonder where these critters have been.? Glad they were not bees.. Wonder what the effect of insects are upon your digestion. Lots of acid down there, right? Guess, thats why I have a reflux problem...

Just think of it as a good source of protein. :D

Humans are generally supposed to be meat eaters. As long as the bug isn't poisonous, it can't be bad for you.

Hearing that I wonder if you can get the west nile virus from swallowing a mosquito.

On a nature outing with my class last year, the ranger lady said that one bug had more protein than a power bar.

I tend to swallow 2-3 or more bugs each ride in the summer.

Go Johnny.. In regards to the West Nile Virus.. From what I have read, another benefit to California's climate. We have little standing water remaining about. I don't think I ever remember a mosquito in my yard.. There are areas where there are mosquitos, like up in the Sierra's. But not where most people live. Don't miss them.. But we do have bees and spiders..

Swallowing insects are a problem for us veggies:(
When I see swarm of flys I keep my mouth shut. I cant help one or another insect meets it´s destiny in my hard breathing gap but I shurley try to avoid it.

Originally posted by cyclezealot
The bug I swallowed later left a sort of fragrant taste.
You never know where those bugs have been! :eek:

yeah.... the bugs i remember eating tasted kinda like.... the smell of fresh cut grass...

Originally posted by DnvrFox
On a nature outing with my class last year, the ranger lady said that one bug had more protein than a power bar.

Is this for real?

:eek:

On a nature outing with my class last year, the ranger lady said that one bug had more protein than a power bar.
Bugs are supposed to have a lot of protein, but I try not to believe too much of what guides say. I've gone through the same tour at our state capital probably three times, and gotten different and conflicting stories about some of the history and items in the building each time :rolleyes:

Originally posted by Chris L


Is this for real?

:eek:

I would think so. This lady was not a volunteer but a trained naturalist/ranger who seemd to have excellent knowledge.

So, I have been storing up bugs for next summer. Will save me a lot on power bars :D

Originally posted by Chris L
Is this for real?
Probably that statement should be prefixed with "Ounce for ounce "

Ya ever watch Fear Factor and the stuff the contestants scarf down?In many parts of the world bugs are common fare.

I have "bitten the bug" a few times and I guess protein will do no harm. But what we really need, out there on those longer road rides, is bugs with more carbohydrate to keep us going those extra miles...;)

Ed

Originally posted by cyclezealot
Yesterday, two of use were speeding down a major grade. (Rural, little traffic.) I was screaming to my co-rider.. With my mouth open talking, I swallowed one bug and spit out the other- at different times... The bug I swallowed later left a sort of fragrant taste. So glad I had lots of Gatoraide and lucky enough to have some Dentyne..
So their size felt smaller than flies.. Ever wonder where these critters have been.? Glad they were not bees.. Wonder what the effect of insects are upon your digestion. Lots of acid down there, right? Guess, thats why I have a reflux problem...

Cheap thrills of the less then tasty kind. :lol: I've enjoyed my protein lunch snacks also, but not all that often when bike riding. On the other hand, when blasting down the highway on my Harley at 70-90mph, it's a trip to be force feed the wonders of bugdoom. :roflmao: Bee's inside my shirt and up my pantleg. :mad: Course, I learned a long time ago to keep my mouth shut and pants zipped up. :lol:

Out near Julian last year, I crossed paths with a 1/2 mile worth of migrating grasshoppers. :eek: talk about stinging and the value of keeping ones mouth shut, speaks of self-control of the painful kind... yikes. :D

Originally posted by pokey
...In many parts of the world bugs are common fare.

But they boil or fry them. "Fresh" bugs can carry germs on them.

Especially flies, who may come out on your route just from unsavoury places.

I would not recommend to eat the uncooked bugs on-the-fly. But still I would worry more about a bug hitting in the eye.

I've caught a couple gnats in the mouth, and one has gone down the wrong pipe. That's the only one that really bothered me. Had a large moth or butterfly hit me on the upper lip. That one powdered my face and had me stopping to wipe the goo off.

Always end up breathing flies in they never return though :o been stung in the mouth by a wasp stung on the lips and the speed these bugs hit u at is also painful!!! :(

I swallow bugs while riding all of the time. Wonder what the bugs are that hit my helmet with what seems great force for their size?
There are bugs in the processed foods you eat. The FDA allows for a certain number of bug parts per given amount of food. From what I remeber frozen pizza has on average the highest amount of bug parts.

:D I am cooking a frozen pizza right now,yum yum

MMMM bugs. Think of it this way. Shrimp are really nothing but glorified bugs. So each time you swallow a gnat think of it as a bug petit-fleur. Deeeelish.

:) Yes it was very good bug pizza.(Burp)You should try it.

I tend to swallow more bugs when I'm climbing and sucking in the deep breaths than when I'm descending.

I have yet to swallow a bug while riding. However now that this was something that was brought to my attention as being a fairly common occurence, I know that the next time I get on my bike will be when that bug flies into my mouth.

But then again, there are very few bugs here in the Bay Area. In fact I can go weeks without getting a single one on the windshield of my car.

Chocolate covered ants and bees are supposed to be quite tasty. YOu can get that at some gourmet shops, it's quite legit! I have yet to try them but that's because I haven't seen any. But I would! I figure I've eaten enough bugs and flies, they can't be harmed taste-wise by adding some chocolate.

Garbear. I recall another story about bugs from one in my bike group.. Well, those who pick on Lycra and think it weird !! It has other protective aspects that we might not think about....
One of the group was wearing baggies. Well, a bee flew up the pantleg opening.. The bee got stuck above the right leg adjacent to some very sensitive areas...
The bee did not like it there. The bee expressed his dislike for being there... (wait, aren't all bees with stingers, females?)
Anyway. the guy was decommissioned for several days.. With traditional cycling shorts this would be much less likely..

Garbear.. I was coming down the East approach to Palomar Mountain.. Very near Lake Henneshaw.. I saw those grasshoppers, also.? Grasshoppers? It was a mess. The road was covered with grasshopper guts. It was a gooey mess. Better slow down on this descent or else...

1 word...protein

I can't believe you people! Come on, haven't any of you ever heard of "carmine"? Whether you think eating a bug is a nasty thing or not, if you have eaten just about anything with red food coloring(it will be shown as "carmine" on the ingreds listing) in it, then you have eaten bugs.
This stuff is from the cochineal bug (a 'true' bug, I believe) in Central/South America. These insects are collected, ground up and used as a dye in clothing, food items, etc,
Ever had a Tropicana Strawberry Smoothie? You ate bugs.
Look at your labels if you don't believe me...it's FDA approved.

Well what you swallowed was probably an insect. The true bugs, the hemipterans, tend to produce all sorts of chemicals to deter predators. One species produces a chemical that smells like vanilla. So what you swallowed was probably a hemipteran.

Now there are some insects that one would not want to swallow - house flies that like breeding in dung, and things like that. But most insects hang out on plants and they would almost certainly be reasonably clean.

Insects do have a high protein content, but I can't see an insect having more protein than a power bar. They are just way too small. I think a fly weighs about 15 mg. However, most insects are very high in protein as a percent of dry weight. The thing about chocolate covered ants is just a novelty - 95 parts chocolate and one part ant - the ants just provide a little crunch.

Insects are a good source of protein but being small it is hard to gather significant numbers of them. A few kinds of insects can be a food source. Migratory locusts (grasshoppers) can be gathered in large numbers. According to the gospels, John the Baptist lived on locusts and honey. Doesn't sound like a good diet to me, but given his line of work, John probably did not expect to make it to retirement age anyway.

Years of riding bicycles and motorcycles have taught me that you really can't stop the little buggers from committing suicide. For that reason I've named one of my motorcycles "Gertruda The Bugslayer". Now if we could just improve the taste, life would be perfect!

It occurred to me. I used to live in Florida. In May, I think they have "Love BUgs," that fly together united.. That, I would not like to swallow.. Ugh ! They visually look a locust infestation for about one week in early May.

Originally posted by cyclezealot
It occurred to me. I used to live in Florida. In May, I think they have "Love BUgs," that fly together united.. That, I would not like to swallow.. Ugh ! They visually look a locust infestation for about one week in early May.

For the bugs, though, what an end!

I have had the misfortune of having a stinkbug make it all the way through my mouth before lodging somehow in my tonsils. I could neither swallow the damn thing, nor preferrably spit it out. I pulled over to the shoulder and retched a while before things got any better---hard not to when there's an unhappy stinkbug stuck to your Puke Spot. Such a wonderful taste sensation. Kinda like when you're mowing your lawn and chop one up and then drive back through it.

Grasshoppers really are no fun either, although I never ingested one. I did smack one of those big fat late-summer types rather hard one time and in trying to hop away from my head it stuck those damn spiny hind legs into my temple just in front of my helmet strap. When I got home I realized I had hit it hard enough to slap the eggs right out of it...they were all over the side of my helmet.

Guys,

There's a whole book on this subject. If you're so inclined, you might want to take a look at:

Man Eating Bugs: The Art and Science of Eating Insects
by Peter Menzel, Faith D'Aluisio

I hear they have some yummy recipes! :rolleyes:

Originally posted by roadbuzz

You never know where those bugs have been! :eek:


Or what's between their toes!!

Sounds like a non-item to me. Your digestive tract can overcome anything a run-of-the-mill bug can throw at it.

Enjoy

Originally posted by LET

Sounds like a non-item to me. Your digestive tract can overcome anything a run-of-the-mill bug can throw at it.


I would say almost anything. Bugs do transmit infections. And some of this stuff is really vicious. Unfortunately.

I think that following the hygienic common rules is still valid.

Of course, if one gulped a bug accidentally, it is not an end of the world and does not require to visit a doctor. But I would, for instance, breath by nose while cycling via a visible cloud of flies.

Or take some other precautions to avoid those bugs.

But I would, for instance, breath by nose while cycling via a visible cloud of flies.
Until you suck a fly up your nose.:P

I put my hand over my face and mouth is massive swarms of insects.

I did see on this Cuban military survivalist show that three larvae of some kind can give enough nutrition for a person to get through a whole day. Of course, if lil larvae type things start flying through the air and into my face I'll quickly retire the bicycle and likely never leave the house again.

I swallow bugs all the time when riding. It's not fun, especially when they come in really hard and make me choke a little but it's not too bad. Isn't there something about 'accidently' eating 2 pounds of insects in a human life?

Bugs in the eyes are a major pain though.

Yep. In the eyes they can be a real bugger. However my spanky sun glasses protect me from that. :D