Australian Aboriginal Foraging For Witchetty Grubs And Goanna

Margaret and Dorothy Napangardi, Australian Aboriginal ladies take Marion and Geoff from the Desert Art Centre foraging for bush tucker.

Using a crow bar as the modern version of the digging stick, they uncover witchetty grubs and a goanna.

Witchetty grubs, also known as witchety grubs or witjuti grubs, is an Australian term of the larvae of a several moths. They are typically large, fleshy, wood eating larvae and the term witchetty grub particularly applies to the cossid moth Endoxyla leucomochla.

The grubs feed on the roots of a species of acacia, found in central Australia, known as the Witchetty bush.

Several species of Australian monitor lizard are referred to as “goanna” locally. The goanna features strongly in Aboriginal mythology and folklore. These predatory lizards are typcially quite bulky with sharp teeth and claws.

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