Editing Termite (section)

===As food===
{{See also|Entomophagy in humans}}
[[File:Collecting Ngumbi.jpg|thumb|Mozambican boys from the Yawo tribe collecting flying termites]]
[[File:Ngumbi.jpg|thumb|These flying alates were collected as they came out of their nests in the ground during the early days of the rainy season.]]
43 termite species are used as food by humans or are fed to livestock.<ref name=greview>{{cite journal|last1=Figueirêdo|first1=R.E.C.R.|last2=Vasconcellos|first2=A.|last3=Policarpo|first3=I.S.|last4=Alves|first4=R.R.N.|title=Edible and medicinal termites: a global overview|journal=Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine|date=2015|volume=11|issue=1|pages=29|doi=10.1186/s13002-015-0016-4|pmid=25925503|pmc=4427943 |doi-access=free }}</ref> These insects are particularly important in impoverished countries where malnutrition is common, as the [[protein]] from termites can help improve the human diet. Termites are consumed in many regions globally, but this practice has only become popular in developed nations in recent years.<ref name=greview/>

Termites are consumed by people in many different cultures around the world. In many parts of Africa, the [[alate]]s are an important factor in the diets of native populations.<ref name=delicacy>{{cite book|last1=Nyakupfuka|first1=A.|title=Global Delicacies: Discover Missing Links from Ancient Hawaiian Teachings to Clean the Plaque of your Soul and Reach Your Higher Self.|date=2013|publisher=BalboaPress|location=Bloomington, Indiana|isbn=978-1-4525-6791-4|pages=40–41}}</ref> Groups have different ways of collecting or cultivating insects; sometimes collecting soldiers from several species. Though harder to acquire, queens are regarded as a delicacy.<ref name=B1951>{{cite book|last1=Bodenheimer|first1=F.S.|title=Insects as Human Food: A Chapter of the Ecology of Man|date=1951|publisher=[[Springer Science+Business Media|Springer]]|location=[[Netherlands]]|isbn=978-94-017-6159-8|pages=331–350}}</ref> Termite alates are high in nutrition with adequate levels of [[fat]] and protein. They are regarded as pleasant in taste, having a nut-like flavour after they are cooked.<ref name=delicacy/>

Alates are collected when the rainy season begins. During a nuptial flight, they are typically seen around lights to which they are attracted, and so nets are set up on lamps and captured alates are later collected. The wings are removed through a technique that is similar to [[winnowing]]. The best result comes when they are lightly roasted on a hot plate or fried until crisp. [[cooking oil|Oil]] is not required as their bodies usually contain sufficient amounts of oil. Termites are typically eaten when livestock is lean and tribal crops have not yet developed or produced any food, or if food stocks from a previous growing season are limited.<ref name=delicacy/>

In addition to Africa, termites are consumed in local or tribal areas in Asia and North and South America. In Australia, [[Indigenous Australians]] are aware that termites are edible but do not consume them even in times of scarcity; there are few explanations as to why.<ref name=delicacy/><ref name=B1951/> Termite mounds are the main sources of soil consumption ([[geophagy]]) in many countries including [[Kenya]], [[Tanzania]], [[Zambia]], [[Zimbabwe]] and [[South Africa]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Geissler|first1=P.W.|title=The significance of earth-eating: social and cultural aspects of geophagy among Luo children|journal=Africa|date=2011|volume=70|issue=4|pages=653–682|doi=10.3366/afr.2000.70.4.653|s2cid=145754470}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Knudsen|first1=J.W.|title=Akula udongo (earth eating habit): a social and cultural practice among Chagga women on the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro|journal=African Journal of Indigenous Knowledge Systems|date=2002|volume=1|issue=1|pages=19–26|issn=1683-0296|oclc=145403765|doi=10.4314/indilinga.v1i1.26322}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Nchito|first1=M.|last2=Wenzel Geissler|first2=P.|last3=Mubila|first3=L.|last4=Friis|first4=H.|last5=Olsen|first5=A.|title=Effects of iron and multimicronutrient supplementation on geophagy: a two-by-two factorial study among Zambian schoolchildren in Lusaka|journal=Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene|date=2004|volume=98|issue=4|pages=218–227|doi=10.1016/S0035-9203(03)00045-2|pmid=15049460}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Saathoff|first1=E.|last2=Olsen|first2=A.|last3=Kvalsvig|first3=J.D.|last4=Geissler|first4=P.W.|title=Geophagy and its association with geohelminth infection in rural schoolchildren from northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa|journal=Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene|date=2002|volume=96|issue=5|pages=485–490|doi=10.1016/S0035-9203(02)90413-X|pmid=12474473}}</ref> Researchers have suggested that termites are suitable candidates for human consumption and [[Space farming|space agriculture]], as they are high in protein and can be used to convert inedible waste to consumable products for humans.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Katayama|first1=N.|last2=Ishikawa|first2=Y.|last3=Takaoki|first3=M.|last4=Yamashita|first4=M.|last5=Nakayama|first5=S.|last6=Kiguchi|first6=K.|last7=Kok|first7=R.|last8=Wada|first8=H.|last9=Mitsuhashi|first9=J.|title=Entomophagy: A key to space agriculture|journal=Advances in Space Research|date=2008|volume=41|issue=5|pages=701–705|doi=10.1016/j.asr.2007.01.027|bibcode=2008AdSpR..41..701S|url=http://fr.khepri.eu/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2013/10/Entomophagy-A-key-to-space-agriculture.pdf}}</ref>