Nghi Xuan people wear lanterns to hunt for the "specialty" sesame beetle

Hunting sesame bugs not only helps to prevent damage to crops, but this type of insect is also a "specialty" dish of the people of Xuan Thanh commune (Nghi Xuan, Ha Tinh ).

VIDEO : Following Nghi Xuan people to catch sesame beetles

When it gets dark, people in Xuan Thanh commune prepare items such as tarps, nets, flashlights, plastic buckets... and call each other to go to the fields to catch sesame beetles.

According to locals, to catch a lot of sesame bugs, you need to choose casuarina trees growing alone in fields or sandbanks. These are the places where sesame bugs often live.

Xuan Thanh people wear lanterns to hunt sesame beetles.

When they found a location, people would signal each other with howls. These cheerful sounds made the atmosphere in the field become lively and bustling.

There are many beetles under the casuarina tree, people will spread a large tarp and then place a flashlight in the middle of the tarp, the light is directed towards the tree. Next, people use a stick or their hands to shake the tree trunk strongly, the beetles will fall down or fly towards the light of the flashlight. Some people are waiting to catch or pick up the fallen ones in a plastic bucket.

Shining a light and spreading a tarp downwind is the experience of hunting sesame beetles of Xuan Thanh people.

Ms. Pham Thi Liem (residing in Thanh Phu village, Xuan Thanh commune) - a veteran "haunter" of sesame bugs in the locality said: "Every year, from mid-March to early April of the lunar calendar is the time when there are many sesame bugs, my family takes the opportunity to find and catch them for food, if there are many, we sell them to earn extra income. This insect is processed into rustic dishes considered "specialties" such as grilled, stir-fried with lemon leaves. The selling price is also quite high, about 200 thousand VND/kg".

Sesame beetles are being sold for about 200 thousand/kg.

It is known that the life cycle of a sesame beetle lasts from 35-45 days with stages: egg, larva, pupa and adult. The weight of an adult sesame beetle is from 3 - 5 grams. Sesame beetles usually appear between 6 - 9 pm every day.

Sesame beetles are used to prepare many delicious dishes such as grilled or stir-fried with lemon leaves.

Having just caught a large batch of sesame bugs, Ms. Phan Thi Huyen Trang (residing in Thanh Phu village, Xuan Thanh commune) happily said: “In my hometown, people have been catching sesame bugs to make dishes for a long time. Recently, many people in and outside the commune know and like this dish, so they often order it for our family. On this occasion, around 6-10pm every day, my family will have 2-3 people go hunting. Each night, we harvest about 7-8 kg of sesame bugs.”

The job of catching sesame bugs brings a good income to Ms. Phan Thi Huyen Trang's family.

For the people of Xuan Thanh commune, hunting sesame bugs not only helps to eliminate pests on crops but is also a source of food, a unique “specialty” dish. It is known that this year, sesame bugs appear in large numbers and are heavier and larger in size than other years, so the people are very excited.

Mr. Tan - Thanh Nam

Source: https://baohatinh.vn/ve-ha-tinh/nguoi-dan-nghi-xuan-doi-den-san-dac-san-bo-vung/248176.htm