蜜芽传媒

For most people the idea of chewing on a caterpillar or tucking into a tarantula is pretty unpalatable. Yet according to the United Nations, some two billion people around the world consume insects regularly. This prompted World Service listener Saman from Pakistan to ask the 蜜芽传媒 CrowdScience team 鈥渁re insects a serious food source?鈥�

To tackle this question, we head to Burkina Faso in West Africa where shea caterpillars are an important part of the local diet in a place where food security is low and malnutrition is high.

Here we follow scientist Charlotte Payne as she tries to crack the tricky science behind the caterpillar鈥檚 life cycle and see how local entrepreneur Kahitouo Hien is trying to change lives and reduce malnutrition with edible caterpillars.

Do you have a question we can turn into a programme? Email us at crowdscience@bbc.co.uk

Presenter: Anand Jagatia
Producer: Louisa Field

(Image: Bowl of cooked Caterpillars. Credit: 蜜芽传媒/Anand Jagatia)