Well I have eaten lots of odd things here and I know people do eat locust, but I cannot thnk of them as prawns! even flying ones. Do they go pink when cooked?



A plague of locusts? Think of them as delicious sky prawns
By Nick Squires in Sydney
(Filed: 22/11/2004)

As parts of Australia struggle to deal with the worst locust plague in 30 years, a new cookbook is advising Outback residents that if you can't beat them, eat them.

The book, Cooking with Sky Prawns, is the work of a pair of government agricultural officers in New South Wales and contains more than 20 locust recipes.

Renaming locusts "sky prawns" will, the authors hope, make the airborne pests more acceptable to Australian palates.

Dishes include locust dumplings, chocolate-covered locusts, locust-flavoured popcorn and "Coonabarabran stir fry", named after one of the towns in New South Wales that has been most affected by the plague.

The state is facing the worst locust infestation in a generation, with billions reaching adulthood and and taking to the sky. Predators that normally keep numbers under control have been depleted by drought. Farmers report swarms 30 miles long and three miles wide. Co-author Edward Joshua says: "If you've eaten a lobster, crab or crayfish, you've already eaten Arthropoda, of which insects are part. So popping a big, juicy locust in your mouth is only a step away."