...but the crickets and the mealworms were mighty tasty!

Lisa, the naturalist who brought them, cooked them in a dry pot on a hotplate over medium heat, with no seasonings. The mealworms tasted a little like popcorn (all protein, though), and the crickets -- OK, you can laugh if you want to -- tasted like chicken. Smoked, roasted chicken.

You do have to put the top on the pot while cooking crickets, though, because they hop out otherwise.

Lisa said that, cooked in a little lemon juice, a little oil, chili powder, cumin and some salt, the crickets make wonderful taco filling. I bet they do! They take on all the flavors they're cooked in.

She also said that pan-fried tomato worms (actually caterpillars) taste like tomatoes. She has drawn the line at eating maggots, though.

Of the 46 people there, I'd say at least 30 ate a bug or two. One little guy, about 7 years old, had to be sent away because he kept eating when there were people waiting behind him to sample. After everyone got one or two, he returned to the plate and devoured everything that was left, including all the little legs. "There's one or two like him in every group," Lisa remarked.

A box of 1,000 crickets costs about $25.00, delivered. Yum!