Edible arachnids: A short review

Abstract

With the rapidly increasing human population, there is an urgent need to meet the challenge of providing sufficient nutrition for the people of the world. Along with edible insects, edible arachnids like spiders and scorpions can be an alternative source of proteins for humans. Although, arachnids have been consumed by humans since time immemorial, there are very few references cataloguing the consumption of arachnids. The different species of edible spiders and scorpions, their distribution, safety issues related to their consumption, and the prospect of sustainable farming of edible arachnids have been explained in this review.

Keywords

• alternative food sources
• edible scorpion
• edible spider
• sustainability