The global atlas of edible insects: analysis of diversity and commonality contributing to food systems and sustainability

Abstract

The future of the food system on the planet is increasingly facing uncertainties that are attributable to population growth and a surge in demand for nutritious food. Traditional agricultural practices are poised to place strain on production, as well as natural resources and ecosystem services provided, particularly under a changing climate. Given their remarkable attributes, including a low environmental footprint, high food conversion ratio, rapid growth and nutritional values, edible insects can play a vital role in the global food system. Nonetheless, substantial knowledge gaps persist regarding their diversity, global distribution, and shared characteristics across regions, potentially impeding effective scaling and access to edible insects. Therefore, we compiled and analysed the fragmented database on edible insects and identified potential drivers that elucidate insect consumption, globally, focusing on promoting a sustainable food system. We collated data from various sources, including the literature for a list of edible insect species, the Global Biodiversity Information Facility and iNaturalist for the geographical presence of edible insects, the Copernicus Land Service library for Global Land Cover, and FAOSTAT for population, income, and nutritional security parameters. Subsequently, we performed a series of analytics at the country, regional and continental levels. Our study identifies 2205 insect species, consumed across 128 countries globally. Among continents, Asia has the highest number of edible insects (932 species), followed by North America (mainly Mexico) and Africa. The countries with the highest consumption of insects are Mexico (450 species), Thailand (272 species), India (262 species), DRC (255 species), China (235 species), Brazil (140 species), Japan (123 species), and Cameroon (100 species). Our study also revealed some common and specific practices related to edible insect access and utilisation among countries and regions. Although insect consumption is often rooted in cultural practices, it exhibits correlations with land cover, the geographical presence of potentially edible insects, the size of a country's population, and income levels. The practice of eating insects is linked to the culture of people in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, while increased consciousness and the need for food sustainability are driving most of the European countries to evaluate eating insects. Therefore, edible insects are becoming an increasingly significant part of the future of planetary food systems. Therefore, more proactive efforts are required to promote them for their effective contribution to achieving sustainable food production.

Figure 1

Global distribution of edible insect species by taxonomic order. Grey represents ≥ 500 species, Blue = 100–499 species, orange = 50–99 species and green 1–49 species.

Figure 2

The number of edible insect species represented by their family and order. Insect orders: Coleoptera (a), Hymenoptera (b), Orthoptera (c), Lepidoptera (d), Isoptera (e), Hemiptera (f), Odonata (g), Dictyoptera (h), Diptera (i), Araneae (j), Plecoptera (k), Ephemeroptera (l), Trichoptera (m). The orders with edible insects belonging to only one family and few species, such as Dermaptera (Forficulidae), Megaloptera (Corydalidae), Phasmida (Phasmatidae), and Psocoptera (Psocidae), are not included in the figure.

Figure 3

The number of edible insect species consumed in North and South America, Africa, Asia, and Oceania. Provided in brackets are the proportion of edible insects.

Figure 4

The number of edible insects reported from each continent is represented by insect orders and the number of species. Europe has been excluded because insects are not traditionally part of people’s diets.

Figure 5

Diversity of insect species consumed in each country, grouped according to regions. DRC Democratic Republic of Congo. Blue =  ≥ 100 species, orange = 50–99 species and green = 1–49 species.

Figure 6

Web of transnational edible insects that are conserved and shared among countries in a continent. The thickness of a line equals the number of common insects consumed within or between countries.

Figure 7

Global distribution of ‘confirmed’ edible insect species. Confirmed edible insect species imply species that have been reported in the literature. The figure was generated using QGIS geographic information system software version 3.34.3 (http://qgis.osgeo.org/).

Figure 8

Global distribution of potentially edible insect species across different land cover classifications. Potentially edible insect species imply both confirmed and unconfirmed edible insects. The figure was generated using QGIS geographic information system software version 3.34.3 (http://qgis.osgeo.org/).

Figure 9

Number (diversity) of potentially edible insect species consumed elsewhere (orange) and confirmed (blue) edible insect species in each country. Only countries with more than 10 potentially edible insect species are represented here. For the values provided above, the bars represent the percentages (%) of edible insect species, based on published reports.

Figure 10

The relationships between the diversity of confirmed edible insects with the diversity of all potential edible insects (a), population size (b), food insecurity/security status (c–g), dietary energy supply (h) and GDP per capita (i). AFG Afghanistan, ALB Albania, DZA Algeria, ASM American Samoa, AND Andorra, AGO Angola, ATG Antigua and Barbuda, ARG Argentina, ARM Armenia, ABW Aruba, AUS Australia, AUT Austria, AZE Azerbaijan, BHS Bahamas, BHR Bahrain, BGD Bangladesh, BRB Barbados, BLR Belarus, BEL Belgium, BLZ Belize, BEN Benin, BMU Bermuda, BTN Bhutan, BOL Bolivia, BIH Bosnia and Herzegovina, BWA Botswana, BRA Brazil, VGB British Virgin Islands, BRN Brunei, BGR Bulgaria, BFA Burkina Faso, BDI Burundi, KHM Cambodia, CMR Cameroon, CAN Canada, CPV Cape Verde, CYM Cayman Islands, CAF Central African Republic, TCD Chad, CHL Chile, CHN China, COL Colombia, COM Comoros, CRI Costa Rica, CIV Cot’ d’Ivoire, HRV Croatia, CUB Cuba, CYP Cyprus, CZE Czechia, DNK Denmark, DJI Djibouti, DOM Dominican Republic, DRC Democratic Republic of Congo, ECU Ecuador, EGY Egypt, SLV El Salvador, GNQ Equatorial Guinea, ERI Eritrea, EST Estonia, SWZ Eswatini, ETH Ethiopia, FJI Fiji, FIN Finland, FRA France, GAB Gabon, GMB Gambia, GEO Georgia, DEU Germany, GHA Ghana, GIB Gibraltar, GRC Greece, GRD Grenada, GUM Guam, GTM Guatemala, GIN Guinea, GNB Guinea-Bissau, GUY Guyana, HND Honduras, HKG Hong Kong, HUN Hungary, IND India, IDN Indonesia, IRN Iran, IRL Ireland, IMN Isle of Man, ISR Israel, ITA Italy, JAM Jamaica, JPN Japan, JOR Jordan, KAZ Kazakhstan, KEN Kenya, KIR Kiribati, XKX Kosovo, KWT Kuwait, KGZ Kyrgyz Republic, LAO Lao PDR, LVA Latvia, LBN Lebanon, LSO Lesotho, LBR Liberia, LBY Libya, LIE Liechtenstein, LTU Lithuania, LUX Luxembourg, MAC Macao SAR, China, MDG Madagascar, MWI Malawi, MYS Malaysia, MDV Maldives, MLI Mali, MLT Malta, MHL Marshall Islands, MRT Mauritania, MUS Mauritius, MEX Mexico, FSM Micronesia, Fed. States, MDA Moldova, MNG Mongolia, MNE Montenegro, MAR Morocco, MOZ Mozambique, MMR Myanmar, NAM Namibia, NPL Nepal, NLD Netherlands, NCL New Caledonia, NZL New Zealand, NIC Nicaragua, NER Niger, NGA Nigeria, PRK North Korea, MNP Northern Mariana Islands, NOR Norway, OMN Oman, PAK Pakistan, PLW Palau, PAN Panama, PNG Papua New Guinea, PRY Paraguay, PER Peru, PHL Philippines, POL Poland, PRT Portugal, PRI Puerto Rico, QAT Qatar, ROU Romania, RUS Russian Federation, RWA Rwanda, STP Sao Tome and Principe, SAU Saudi Arabia, SEN Senegal, SRB Serbia, SYC Seychelles, SLE Sierra Leone, SGP Singapore, SVK Slovak Republic, SVN Slovenia, SLB Solomon Islands, SOM Somalia, ZAF South Africa, KOR South Korea, SSD South Sudan, ESP Spain, LKA Sri Lanka, SDN Sudan, SUR Suriname, SWE Sweden, CHE Switzerland, SYR Syrian Arab Republic, TJK Tajikistan, TZA Tanzania, THA Thailand, TLS Timor-Leste, TGO Togo, TON Tonga, TTO Trinidad and Tobago, TUN Tunisia, TUR Türkiye, TKM Turkmenistan, TCA Turks and Caicos Islands, UGA Uganda, UKR Ukraine, ARE United Arab Emirates, GBR United Kingdom, USA United States, URY Uruguay, UZB Uzbekistan, VEN Venezuela (Republic of Bolivarian), VNM Vietnam, YEM Yemen, ZMB Zambia, ZWE Zimbabwe.