Friday, January 04, 2008

Inswa




I’ve been trying to capture these guys throughout the whole rainy season. They’re these little creatures- which I find quite fascinating- called “inswa”. (Spelling??) Someone once told me they’re flying termites. I’ve come to agree.

Inswa come out just after a rain, or if it’s lightly showering. They come from the ground and gravitate toward light. After a few minutes, wings start to fall off the bodies of the creatures. I thought they all died because countless wingless bodies can be found in puddles of water. But actually, the bodies that make it to dirt will re-bury themselves until a time when they can fly out again. I don’t understand the whole process- how the wings grow, why they fall off so quickly or why the creatures are attracted to water & light- both of which kill them. A bit of Zambian insight: the wings are considered a Bemba delicacy, though I’ve yet to indulge. HA! (Aside: Bemba is one of Zambia’s many tribes, they originally come from Northern and Copperbelt provinces- though plenty have made Lusaka home).

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi, They taste great ! I used to stay in Lusaka when I was a boy and when the flying ants came out, me and my pal Chikanda stood out on the road and grabbed handfuls of them from the air around us. Then his mum roasted them up for us and we tucked in. From what I remember they tasted of a combination of peanut butter and scrambled eggs.
Best wishes
Dave

Anonymous said...

PS It was the bodies we ate and not the wings.. they were pulled off before cooking..
Dave