Although small this insect is very common in most areas of the UK and can be found in rotting wood and other decaying leaf matter. They are easy identified and quiet tasty. They can be boiled or fried gently and turn a slightly pinkish colour when cooked much like prawns. Boiling gives them a slightly fishy, salty taste whereas I have found them gently dry fried to have a crisp smoky flavour not unlike smoky bacon crisps. As a survival or woodland food their small size makes them not very filling but they can be an easily found tasty treat to liven up a meal and fried make excellent croutons for a nettle soup or stew or good with mushrooms in a woodland fry up.

There are currently 46 species of Woodlice found in Britain, 32 of which can be regarded as native. One species, Metatrich niscoides, has recently been discovered and is unknown outside Britain. Our largest Woodlouse, Ligia Oceania, is 3cm (1 1/4 in) long, while the smallest, Trichoniscus pygmaeus, is 2.5mm (1/10 in).

Return to Edible Insects