The Salagubang, bow!

This, my friends, is a June beetle, otherwise known as a salagubang.  Present during the rainy seasons of May and June.  Maybe some of you have played with one of these before, with a piece of string tied to one of its legs so that it could buzz above your head like a living, miniature balloon. 

My earliest memory of these insects was with my grandfather, who had a habit of catching one every time it rained.  He would tell me to hold my hand open for a gift (which I always expected to be something like candy or chocolate, but no!) and he’d drop the beetle right there on my palm.  That usually led to me freezing on the spot and yelling for him to take it away before I gave in to panic.  I’m not a big fan of bugs.  I’d rather they leave me alone.  I’d do the same for them if they did.

Okay, why am I talking about the salagubang?  Wala lang.  I recently watched a TV special about it by Jessica Soho.  In some parts of the Philippines, they are considered a delicacy, cooked in different ways and served in some restaurants and eateries.  Adobong salagubang, crispy fried salagubang, sinampalukang salagubang, oh yeah, you name it. 

I’ve never tried it, but I hope it tastes better than fried crickets (I’ve eaten crickets at Cabalen on a stupid whim, and they are umm.. too juicy and just too insect-y for my taste).  I’ve sworn myself off insects forever, not because of the taste but because of the way they cook the bugs.  First they take their wings and the legs off, then they fry them while they’re still alive.  They showed those poor, poor bugs, breathing, wriggling in pain on a pan.  I don’t think I could eat anything that had to suffer like that.

By the way, this is a salaginto (green june beetle), its shinier and arguably cuter little bug brother.