Insects are ordinary food in Thailand, especially in the northeast and the north: crickets, silkworm pupae, bamboo caterpillars, grasshoppers and red ant eggs are sold fried as snacks or cooked into salads and soups. For most people they are as safe as any other street food, but anyone allergic to shrimp or other shellfish should be careful, because insects can trigger a similar reaction.
For many visitors a bag of fried crickets is a dare. For many Thais, above all in Isaan, it is a cheap, tasty source of protein that grandparents caught in the rice fields and that is now farmed on a large scale. This page explains what is on sale, how it is cooked and what it tastes like, and the two real safety questions: allergy and frying oil.
Edible insects in Thailand
- Most common
- House crickets, bamboo caterpillars, silkworm pupae, grasshoppers and locusts, red ant eggs, giant water bugs, palm weevil larvae
- Typical cooking
- Deep-fried and seasoned; also in salads, curries, chili dips and omelets
- Where
- Fresh markets and night markets, especially in Isaan and the north
- Scale
- About 20,000 cricket farms (FAO study, 2013)
- Main risk
- Shellfish allergy; old or reused frying oil
What is on sale
An FAO study of Thailand's edible insects found that around 50 species are eaten in the north and around 14 in the south. On a typical market stall you will see a handful of them, piled in trays and sold by the scoop:
- Crickets (jing reed): the easiest place to start. Small, crunchy and nutty, with a taste of whatever they are seasoned with.
- Silkworm pupae (dak dae): brown, oval and soft inside, with a stronger, earthy flavor that divides opinion.
- Bamboo caterpillars (rot duan): pale little worms that puff up when fried; light and crisp, often compared to puffed corn snacks.
- Grasshoppers and locusts: larger and chewier, with legs and wings that some people pull off first.
- Red ant eggs (khai mot daeng): the eggs and larvae of weaver ants, soft and slightly sour, eaten in soups, salads and omelets rather than fried.
- Giant water bugs (maeng da): large beetle-like insects with a strong, perfumed taste, traditionally pounded into chili dip.
- Palm weevil larvae: fat white grubs, fried or grilled; the most challenging for first-timers.
The same FAO study recorded deep-fried insects retailing at around 20 to 30 baht per 100 g in 2013. Prices have moved since then, so check at the stall; most vendors sell small bags as well.
How insects are cooked and eaten
Most insects you see in tourist areas are deep-fried and tossed with salt, pepper, soy or seasoning powder, sometimes with fried kaffir lime leaves and chili. They are eaten as a drinking snack, rather like peanuts.
In Isaan home cooking they go further. Red ant eggs are added to sour soups and to spicy minced-meat salads, giant water bugs flavor the chili dip nam phrik maeng da, and grasshoppers and crickets may be roasted and pounded. Our guide to Thai dishes by region explains the salads and dips they belong with; this page stays with the insects themselves.
Start with crickets or bamboo caterpillars, not pupae. The two crunchy, mild insects are the gentlest introduction. Ask for a small bag and try one plain before you add chili sauce.
When and where to find them
Farmed crickets and silkworm pupae are on sale all year. Wild-caught insects follow the seasons: according to the FAO study, bamboo caterpillars are in season from August to November, weaver ant eggs from March to May, and the Bombay locust from August to October.
Fresh markets and evening markets across the northeast are the best places to see the full range; our guide to Isaan covers the region. In the north, markets in and around Chiang Mai sell them too, and you will often find a stall at the Chiang Mai night markets. In Bangkok and the beach towns, insect carts appear on nightlife streets and at night markets, aimed partly at tourists. Our beginner's guide to Thai night markets explains how buying from a stall works, and our page on Thai fresh markets covers the daytime markets where locals shop.
Shellfish allergy and insects
Insects are arthropods, the same group of animals as shrimp, crabs and lobsters, and they share some of the proteins that cause shellfish allergy. Allergy specialists therefore advise that people allergic to crustaceans may react to insects as well, sometimes severely. If you have a shellfish allergy, ask your own doctor before you try any insect, and do not test it on holiday. Our page on traveling with a severe allergy covers adrenaline pens and what to do if a reaction starts.
Packaging will not always warn you. Thailand's food-labeling rules (Ministry of Public Health Notification No. 450, 2024) require prepackaged food to declare allergens such as crustaceans and shellfish, but insects are not on that list, so a packet of insect snacks does not have to carry a shellfish-type warning. The phrases for explaining an allergy are in our guide to ordering Thai food.
No shellfish warning on the bag does not mean no risk. Thai allergen rules do not list insects, so a packet of fried crickets can be legally sold without any allergy warning at all.
Frying oil and hygiene
The other risk is the same as for any fried street food: the oil. Insects are usually fried in advance and kept in open trays, sometimes for hours. Choose a busy stall where the trays are refilled often, look for insects that are dry and crisp rather than limp and greasy, and avoid stalls where the oil in the wok is black and thick.
Our article on avoiding illness from street food gives the general rules for choosing a stall. If you do get an upset stomach, our page on food poisoning in Thailand explains what to do and when to see a doctor. Do not eat insects you have caught yourself: wild insects can carry pesticide residues from the fields.
Cricket farming and the rules
Insect eating in Thailand is not a novelty kept alive for tourists. The FAO counted about 20,000 cricket farms in the country, and cricket production averaged around 7,500 tonnes a year between 1996 and 2011. Many are small family operations in the northeast, where crickets are raised in rearing pens (the study counted over 217,000) and sold to traders for the fried-snack market.
Traditional insects are treated as ordinary food. The Thai FDA's rules on "novel food" (Ministry of Public Health Notification No. 376, 2016) apply to foods with less than fifteen years of history of human consumption; insects eaten in Thailand for generations fall outside that definition, although the notification itself does not name insects. Factory products such as cricket powder are packaged food and must carry a Thai label like any other.
Frequently asked questions
Is it safe to eat insects in Thailand?
For most people, yes, as long as you choose a busy stall with freshly fried, crisp insects. The real exceptions are people with a shellfish or crustacean allergy, who may react to insects too and should ask their doctor first, and anyone tempted to eat wild insects caught in fields.
What do fried crickets taste like?
Mostly of the seasoning and the oil. A fried cricket is crunchy and mildly nutty, a little like a toasted seed or a crisp potato chip. Silkworm pupae are softer and earthier, and bamboo caterpillars are light and puffy.
Where can I buy edible insects in Bangkok?
Insect carts appear in nightlife streets and night markets, and some fresh markets sell them in the morning. For a wider and more local choice, markets in Isaan and the north are better, especially in the seasons when wild insects are caught.
Can people with a shellfish allergy eat insects?
They should not try without medical advice. Insects and crustaceans are related and share some allergy-causing proteins, so a reaction is possible. Thai packaging law does not require an allergy warning on insect snacks.
Sources
- FAO – Six-legged livestock: edible insect farming, collection and marketing in Thailand (2013) (checked October 2026)
- Thai FDA – Ministry of Public Health Notification No. 450 (2024) on food labeling (checked October 2026)
- Thai FDA – Ministry of Public Health Notification No. 376 (2016) on novel food (checked October 2026)
- Royal Society of Thailand – Thai dictionary (entries for cricket and pupa) (checked October 2026)