The witchetty or witchety grub was also commonly called witjuti grub and many other names given the many hundreds of Indigenous Australian languages. It is the large, white, wood-eating larvae of certain varieties of moths the most common being the cossid moth Endoxyla leucomochla, which feeds on the roots of the Witchetty bush (named after the grubs) in central Australia.
I have watched the women dig for this grub which forms a staple part of women’s and children’s diet in the traditional lifestyle. The grub might also be the larvae of the cossid or ghost moths (Hepialidae), or longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae). I have dug for this myself. Mot to eat personally but to turn out onto the grass for the watching magpies to eat, in an attempt to save the life of a struggling Eucalyptus Ficifolia or flowering gum tree that was having it’s juvenile roots eaten away by the grubs.
Those who eat the Witchetty grub sat they all taste similar regardless of the species. As the outer skin is quite tough and chewy it is considered a good teething item to give a baby and it will take them a long time to chew the grub and obtain the almond tasting food from the centre. The grubs are usually thrown into hot ashes to cook, then wiped clean and eaten as finger food, high protein delights as the outer skin tastes like crunchy chicken skin and the centre of the cooked grub is described as egg like by some and peanut butter and egg by others.
The word witchetty comes from Adynyamathanha wityu, "hooked stick" and vartu, "grub." In Indigenous Australians culture digging for Witchetty grubs is women’s business though men are allowed to do it. Women also paint the Witchetty grub as Dreamings in their paintings.
In Patrick White's novel, Riders in the Chariot, a young Aboriginal boy thinks a flabby rector looks like he was "made out of old wichetty grubs"
Fresh water fishermen use the grubs as bait and call them Bardi grubs, also spelled Bardy grubs, a shortening of the Latin name (Bardistus cibarius)of the longhorn beetle though along the Murray River the fishermen are mosty finding the hepialid moth larvae of Trictena[4] and Abantiades.
These grubs live about 60 cm below ground and feed upon the roots of River Red Gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis). They can also be found under Black Wattle trees, and this is one of the reasons wattles rarely live longer than 15 years. The roots of the Acacia kempeana shrub are another good source of the grubs.
The women know how to find the Witchetty grub by looking for the small piles of sawdust around the base of a plant which indicate the entrance hole the beetle dug in order to lay the eggs for the bug. The Witchetty grub may also be inside the branches and trunk or the tree and the sawdust is the giveaway sign the women search for to show where to dig. They will use a long thin stems with a backwards facing thorn to hook grubs out of their woody hole ot break away a section of the branch or root with the Witchetty grub in it so they can take the Witchetty Grubs away and eat them at a later time.
The Witchetty grub is also a bush medicine and the Warlpiri Aboriginals treat eye sores with a paste made from witchetty grubs.
I have watched the women dig for this grub which forms a staple part of women’s and children’s diet in the traditional lifestyle. The grub might also be the larvae of the cossid or ghost moths (Hepialidae), or longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae). I have dug for this myself. Mot to eat personally but to turn out onto the grass for the watching magpies to eat, in an attempt to save the life of a struggling Eucalyptus Ficifolia or flowering gum tree that was having it’s juvenile roots eaten away by the grubs.
Those who eat the Witchetty grub sat they all taste similar regardless of the species. As the outer skin is quite tough and chewy it is considered a good teething item to give a baby and it will take them a long time to chew the grub and obtain the almond tasting food from the centre. The grubs are usually thrown into hot ashes to cook, then wiped clean and eaten as finger food, high protein delights as the outer skin tastes like crunchy chicken skin and the centre of the cooked grub is described as egg like by some and peanut butter and egg by others.
The word witchetty comes from Adynyamathanha wityu, "hooked stick" and vartu, "grub." In Indigenous Australians culture digging for Witchetty grubs is women’s business though men are allowed to do it. Women also paint the Witchetty grub as Dreamings in their paintings.
In Patrick White's novel, Riders in the Chariot, a young Aboriginal boy thinks a flabby rector looks like he was "made out of old wichetty grubs"
Fresh water fishermen use the grubs as bait and call them Bardi grubs, also spelled Bardy grubs, a shortening of the Latin name (Bardistus cibarius)of the longhorn beetle though along the Murray River the fishermen are mosty finding the hepialid moth larvae of Trictena[4] and Abantiades.
These grubs live about 60 cm below ground and feed upon the roots of River Red Gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis). They can also be found under Black Wattle trees, and this is one of the reasons wattles rarely live longer than 15 years. The roots of the Acacia kempeana shrub are another good source of the grubs.
The women know how to find the Witchetty grub by looking for the small piles of sawdust around the base of a plant which indicate the entrance hole the beetle dug in order to lay the eggs for the bug. The Witchetty grub may also be inside the branches and trunk or the tree and the sawdust is the giveaway sign the women search for to show where to dig. They will use a long thin stems with a backwards facing thorn to hook grubs out of their woody hole ot break away a section of the branch or root with the Witchetty grub in it so they can take the Witchetty Grubs away and eat them at a later time.
The Witchetty grub is also a bush medicine and the Warlpiri Aboriginals treat eye sores with a paste made from witchetty grubs.
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