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Access through your institution Buy or subscribe From fieldwork and surveys of the literature, Maurizio Paoletti and colleagues found that invertebrates form an important part of the diets
of 32 Amazonian ethnic groups (_Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B_ 267, 2247–2252; 2000). The most widely consumed species are those that feed on leaves or leaf litter, including leaf-cutter ants,
termites, caterpillars (including the cassava hornworm, pictured) and large earthworms. The last, when smoked, are a delicacy to the Ye'Kuana people of Venezuela — who even
'farm' the worms by introducing them into worm-poor patches of ground and reharvesting them. Leaves are the most abundant source of plant matter in the Amazon. So the animals that
feed on them are a highly efficient and sustainable source of nutrients. This is a good example, say Paoletti _et al_., of how indigenous peoples support themselves from natural resources
without causing ecological damage. This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution ACCESS OPTIONS Access through your institution Subscribe to this journal Receive 51
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Whitfield View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS Reprints and permissions ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE Whitfield,
J. Lovely grub. _Nature_ 408, 422 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/35044183 Download citation * Issue Date: 23 November 2000 * DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/35044183 SHARE THIS ARTICLE Anyone
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