Abstract

Human beings'uncontrolled exploitation lead to the rapid consumption and depletion of many natural resources.Mankind is facing an unprecedented dilemma in survival and development which. Searching, development and utilization of new natural resources will be an important way to solve the current problems. Insects, as an important natural resource needing to be further exploited, have aroused wide concerns and may play an important role in tackling food crisis and natural resources depletion. In China, insects have been being utilized for a long time as an important natural resource and there were lots of practices and experiences in the use of insect, especially in the rural regions. In this paper, we presented the current situation of insect utilization in Chinese rural regions and introduced edible insects being used by ethnic people in Yunnan province of China, the place which is special for its diversity in ethnic culture and folkways. In addition, constraints and prospects in using insect resources were discussed and analyzed as well. It was expected that the experiences in using insect resources in China could be helpful for other countries to promote the utilization of insect resources in near future.

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