Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 37, Number 8, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 31 January 1905 — A Queer Food. [ARTICLE]

A Queer Food.

A most singular food is the larvae of a fly common in certain portions of California and known as ephydra. This insect is found in such vast quantities in Lake Mono, Cal., that it is washed upon the shores in vast windrows and can be collected by bushels. The water of Mono Is very singular, seemingly very heavy and smooth, like <4l, so much so that it resists ordinary wind and refuses to become ruffled. When the larvae begin to appear the Indians gather from far and near and scrape them up, place the wormlike creatures on cloths and racks in the sun and dry them, when they are beaten up and husked, looking then Mke rice. The Indians call the food koo-chah-bee, and many bushels are collected at his time. That larvae are nutritious is shown by the condition of the Indians, who soon grow fat on tbe rich diet. Many birds are attracted by tbe larvae and gorge themselves with the singular food.