What happens if they eat a lady bug?

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Christina Noraas

Christina
Joined
Sep 28, 2010
Messages
537
Location
Mc Grath, Minnesota
I just caught Rex eating one, I took it away immediately; will it pose a threat to their health? We haven't been able to spray the outside of our house yet, so they are every where.
 
we have stink bugs here ugh...they are all over the outside of the house
nasty little buggers.
it's all i can do to keep them out of the animal cages
 
He'll probably be fine, but keep an eye on his poops. My guess is that if they could catch a bug in the wild, they'd probably eat it even though they're herbivores. (My father used to tell me "everybody eats a bug or two in their lifetime". Obviously, though, its not something he encouraged.)
 
Well my daughter, when she was young though Ladybugs where a snack!! She is 13 now and I am always telling her story, At 2 yrs old she came to me crunching something" Mommy this is Yummy" I saw legs on her tongue and it was a chewed up ladybug!!! I would say just keep an eye on your Chin and try to find any in the area and dispose of them.
 
For those who think they've never eaten a bug: shrimp, crab, and lobsters are arthropods, just like insects, so if you've eaten those things, you've eaten something that is biologically equivalent to a water bug. (You've probably eaten flying bugs inadventedly as well.)

The University of Ohio estimates that Americans unknowingly eat between one and two pounds of insects per year.

Our aversion to eating bugs is quite cultural. There are other cultures that eat insects, and apparently, they can be quite tasty. (I, however, have never tried and so do not speak from experience.) One description of the taste of a Witchetty grub (native to Australia) is as follows: "nut-flavored scrambled eggs and mild mozzarella". So when your daughter told you that the bug she was eating was tasty, she was probably right. You just didn't know because you've never tried. :)

They can also be healthy for humans. According to one of my sources, "Insects are richer in minerals and healthy fats than beef or pork." "A hundred grams of dehydrated cricket contains 1,550 milligrams of iron, 340 milligrams of calcium, and 25 milligrams of zinc ..." They apparently have a lot of protein in them as well.

As for a chin eating a bug, I don't think they have a lot of sugar, so at least you don't have to worry about that.
 
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I have no idea the effect on a chin, but I don't think one would hurt, really. I have tried chocolate covered crickets and mealworms though, as a dare from an entomology professor. The mealworms didn't have a noticeable flavor/texture, though the crickets were a bit like crisped rice, kind of like a crunch bar.
 
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