The Hatch of the Termites

In recent times I have been sitting down to enjoying meals with large groups, not business lunches or ‘contrived’ dinner parties; but with families and/or a collection of friends, this is surprisingly novel to me. I appreciate good food and recognize that I really do enjoy the relaxed banter.

Today there was an enormous hatch of what looked Mayfly; on closer inspection they looked like big flying Ants. However, I was shown they are in fact Termites.

Kioni explained that the Termites come out of their holes, fly around for a short time and on landing their wings drop off. The males and females find each other, go off to establish new colonies

Children were enthusiastically running around chasing them. It was noticeable that the poorer kids were catching them and eating them with relish.

I pointed this out to Kiono who told me how tasty and nutritious Termites are. There is poverty here, and the poor seize any opportunity to eat whatever may present itself.

Since I am on a Kenyan diet I joined in the spirit of the event; whether they have any nutritional value at all, I have no idea, but I did find them tasteless.

For anti social reasons I do not recommend the Kenyan diet whilst sharing a tent!