Insects
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Bees have been kept in hives since at least the First Dynasty of Egypt, five thousand years ago,[71] and man had been harvesting honey from the wild long before that. Fixed comb hives are used in many parts of the world and are made from any locally available material.[72] In more advanced economies, where modern strains of domestic bee have been selected for docility and productiveness, various designs of hive are used which enable the combs to be removed for processing and extraction of honey. Quite apart from the honey and wax they produce, honey bees are important pollinators of crops and wild plants, and in many places hives are transported around the countryside to assist in pollination.[73]
Sericulture, the rearing of silkworms, was first adopted by the Chinese during the Shang dynasty.[74] The only species farmed commercially is the domesticated silkmoth. When it spins its cocoon, each larva produces an exceedingly long, slender thread of silk. The larvae feed on mulberry leaves and in Europe, only one generation is normally raised each year as this is a deciduous tree. In China, Korea and Japan however, two generations are normal, and in the tropics, multiple generations are expected. Most production of silk occurs in the Far East, with a synthetic diet being used to rear the silkworms in Japan.[75]
Insects form part of the human diet in many cultures.[76] In Thailand, crickets are farmed for this purpose in the north of the country, and palm weevil larvae in the south. The crickets are kept in pens, boxes or drawers and fed on commercial pelleted poultry food, while the palm weevil larvae live on cabbage palm and sago palm trees, which limits their production to areas where these trees grow.[77] Another delicacy of this region is the bamboo caterpillar, and the best rearing and harvesting techniques in semi-natural habitats are being studied.[77]