Edible insects of chiapas, Mexico

In Chiapas, we recorded 178 species of edible insects included in 8 orders of Class Insecta: Hymenoptera (67 species), Coleoptera (41 species), Lepidoptera (27 species), Orthoptera (25 species), Hemiptera (11 species), Homoptera (5 species), and Trichoptera and Neuroptera (one species each). Of the species recorded, 99.5% are terrestrial. Seventy-seven percent of the species are holometabolous insects, while 84.8% were ingested in the immature stage. The Coleoptera had the greatest diversity of ingested species; 64.8% of the genera had only one species. The most representative genera were Polistes, Trigona, Passalus, Melipona, and Polybia. Of the species studied, 75.9% were stenoteques mainly belonging to the altitudinal biotic zone corresponding to the tropical lowlands. Various species are found in the border of the transition biotic zones. In Chiapas, edible insects have a wide utilization and are consumed in many ways. Some species are commercialized while others are used in traditional medicine.