The practice of people eating insects, that is.

The New Zealand Herald reports that scientists at the National Autonomous University of Mexico have catalogued 1,700 different species and found that bugs are eaten in at least 113 countries worldwide.

David George Gordon, a Seattle-based naturalist and author, said,

"Insects are the most valuable, underused and delicious animals in the world,"  and the West "is one the few cultures" that doesn’t eat them. "Maybe we are the weirdos."

A plate of maguey worms – larvae of a giant butterfly – sell for NZ$31.50 in smart Mexican restaurants (right).

Sago grubs wrapped in banana leaves are a delicacy in Papua New Guinea.

Large leafcutter ants are popular in Colombia.