Stink bug oil makes elderly Mizos happy

Aizawl, Jan 21 (UNI) Amidst the fear of famines abundant following bamboo flowering in Mizoram, elderly Mizos are happy with the presence of a unique stink bug - Hemipteran bug, locally known as Thangnang, which is believed to produce edible oil.

According to the Forest Research Institute, Dehradun, Hemipteran bug in one of the most delectable insects and breeds inside bamboo forests. They multiply as fast as rats when they eat bamboo flowers.

During this dry spell, the bugs, bigger than houseflies, have appeared in the western part of the state along the Tripura-Mizoram border. The insects can produce oil and the Mizos consider it as a healthy and precious part of their diet.

Talking to UNI Mr James Lalsiamliana, assistant plant protection officer of Mizoram Agriculture Department and Head of Rodent&Insect Control Unit, said, ''We are planning to conduct a lab test of the oil, which is extracted from the bugs to get a clear picture of the organic contents''.

Referring to official records, he said, Thangnang was first detected in 1958 during the bamboo flowering in Mizoram. It has now hit the state after about five decades and scientists are convinced that the bugs are a precursor to the phenomenon.

The village people cut the trees or branches, where these large number of bugs landed and when they fall on the ground, they collect them in gunny bags or bamboo baskets for extracting oil.

''We usually collect 20 to 30 insects, when the swarms of bugs appeared in our village'', 30-year old Lalrinmawia, a resident of Sabual village in Tripura-Mizoram border told UNI.

''The best way to extract oil is to kill them first in hot water and grind; then they are put on a clean piece of white cloth and the residues are biltered. After that, it is treated over a fire by a frying pan or pots and then the oil is separated'', he explained.

Stink bug oil is found in the market but it is not pure. Mizos believed that many are mixed with chemical adulterants, which contain hazardous toxins. But the original oil is not only good for health but also very tasty, and it is available only once in 50 years, Lalrinmawia added.

Thansanga, an 80-year old farmer, who witnessed the last bamboo flowering during the late fifties in the state said, ''During the rainy season of 1958, a swarm of Thangnangs appeared in the forest of Phuldungsei village and landed on trees in such large numbers that the branches of the trees often broke off and we collected the bugs for exracting oil'', he said.

UNI