"The big harvesting opportunity comes during mautam, the rare mass flowering of bamboo (Melocanna baccifera) that triggers stink bug outbreaks. There isn't a fixed date or month; it's mostly around September-October, says Lalvohbika, a conservationist at Dampa tiger reserve in Mizoram. But weather patterns are changing these days. In 2022 we saw them as early as May and then again in September-October."
"Instead of spreading a sheet on the ground to collect the falling insects, as entomologists might, the Mizo have designed a fishing net-like implement with a long bamboo handle and a conical plastic pocket held open by a strong circular metal wire. As the flowering approaches, the villagers shake the branches, sending the bugs tumbling into the net. Once full, the bag's narrow end is untied and the catch is emptied into gunny sacks at the base of the trees."
Mizo communities in Mizoram harvest and consume Udonga montana (thangnang), a bamboo-feeding stink bug, during periodic outbreaks tied to bamboo mass flowering (mautam). Villagers use a conical, net-like implement on long bamboo poles to collect tumbling insects, then pour hot water to kill them and hand-clean debris before storage. The practice supplies high-protein food, reduces pest populations, and avoids forest-damaging pesticides. Knowledge of harvesting and processing has been transmitted across generations. Changing weather patterns are shifting outbreak timing, producing earlier or multiple occurrences in recent years.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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