Lethocerus indicus

Lethocerus indicus
	; Lethocerus indicus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia;
Phylum:	Arthropoda;
Class:	Insecta;
Order:	Hemiptera;
Family:	Belostomatidae;
Genus:	Lethocerus;
Species:	L. indicus;
Binomial name
	Lethocerus indicus; (Lepeletier & Serville, 1825)

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Lethocerus indicus is a giant water bug in the family Belostomatidae, native to Southeast Asia. It was originally described as Belostoma indicum but is no longer placed in that genus. It is well-known as an edible species, with a number of different regional cuisines preparing it in different manners.

[edit] In Vietnamese cuisine

The Vietnamese name for the insect and its extract is cà cuống. The insect's essence (a pheromone produced by the male to attract mates) is harvested by collecting its liquid-producing sacs. That liquid is then placed in small glass containers. The insect is claimed to be scarce^{[citation needed]}, and demand for the extract is high. Most of the cà cuống essence on the market is therefore imitation, with the actual essence fetching a high price.

Cà cuống is typically used sparsely and eaten with bánh cuốn (rice noodle rolls) by adding a drop to the nước chấm (dipping sauce).

It is also eaten in a soup dish called 'bun thang' adding a unique essence to the broth. The dish traditionally includes rice noodles, thinly sliced egg crepe, pork cold cuts, and other various additions in a chicken/dry squid broth. A tiny drop of the extract on the tip of a toothpick would suffice to flavor the whole bowl of soup. This dish originated in Northern Vietnam.

[edit] In Thai cuisine

Fried giant water bugs

In the northeast region of Thailand, eating insects is common. This species (known as mang dah; Thai: แมงดา) is a popular dish, eaten whole and fried, rather than as an extract.^[1]