If you’re looking for a trendy, unique Valentine’s Day gift, perhaps you should delight your new flame with a box of crispy chocolate-covered crickets. Daring and quirky lovers will adore grasshoppers or worms enrobed in creamy sweetness. If you’ve been stung by love, chocolate-covered scorpions should get the message across nicely. Chocolate-covered insects are a hot new food trend that is sure to swarm North American stores.

Why Are Bugs Crawling Into Our Menu?

Although they generally don’t appeal to the Western palate, insects are a dietary staple in many other parts of the world including South America, Asia, Africa and New Zealand. Because ensuring sustainable food sources is a common goal, many people are advocating the consumption of insects in general. Even though the thought of getting a cricket leg stuck in your teeth can make you retch, many bugs are surprisingly good for you. They’re full of protein and vitamins. Besides benefiting our health, eating insects is great for the environment. Holidays that focus on candy present perfect opportunities to introduce a novel idea like bug-eating to the public, and few people turn up their noses at chocolate. You can expect to see more and more six-legged critters adorned in creamy cocoa and festive ribbons in the near future.

Bug Candy: What’s Available?

Crickets, grasshoppers, ants, scorpions, silkworms and even tarantulas have all found a place in candy makers’ hearts, and new bugs hop into the mix frequently. They are gift-boxed and ready-to-eat; all you need is an adventurous recipient who won’t scream in horror. If you can’t find them locally, don’t try to make chocolate-covered bugs at home. Many insects are not edible, and bugs you find around the house or yard may have been exposed to pesticides or disease. To deal with those unappetizing intruders, call your exterminator.