Nsenene is the

Luganda The Ganda language or Luganda (, , ) is a Bantu language spoken in the African Great Lakes region. It is one of the major languages in Uganda and is spoken by more than 10 million Baganda and other people principally in central Uganda including ...

name for ''Ruspolia differens'': a

bush cricket Insects in the family Tettigoniidae are commonly called katydids (especially in North America), or bush crickets. They have previously been known as "long-horned grasshoppers". More than 8,000 species are known. Part of the suborder Ensifer ...

(a.k.a. katydids or misnamed "long-horned grasshoppers") in the tribe

Copiphorini The Copiphorini are a tribe of bush crickets or katydids in the family Tettigoniidae. Previously considered a subfamily (the Copiphorinae), they are now placed in the subfamily Conocephalinae. Like some other members of Conocephalinae, they are k ...

of the 'cone-head' subfamily. It is often confused with the closely related ''

Ruspolia nitidula ''Ruspolia nitidula'' is a species belonging to the subfamily Conocephalinae of the family Tettigoniidae. It is found throughout Europe, Africa, and the Palearctic part of Asia. A vernacular name that has been used is "cone-headed grasshopper", ...

''.

Distribution and traditional beliefs

This species has long been known as one of the many totems of Buganda Kingdom of Uganda. They were founded by Seruwu Douglass from Ssese Islands in Masaka. This species is a delicacy in central and south-western Uganda, as well as an important source of income. The insect is also found in South Africa, Malawi,

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

Congo Congo or The Congo may refer to either of two countries that border the Congo River in central Africa: * Democratic Republic of the Congo, the larger country to the southeast, capital Kinshasa, formerly known as Zaire, sometimes referred to a ...

, Ghana, Kenya,

Burundi Burundi (, ), officially the Republic of Burundi ( rn, Repuburika y’Uburundi ; Swahili language, Swahili: ''Jamuhuri ya Burundi''; French language, French: ''République du Burundi'' ), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the ...

, Cameroon,

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Madagascar, and Mauritius. Traditionally in Uganda, ''nsenene'' were collected by children and women. They were given to the women's husbands in return for a new ''gomasi'' (a traditional dress for women). Although the women were made to do the treacherous work of collecting ''nsenene'', they were never allowed to eat them. It was believed that women who consume ''nsenene'' would bear children with deformed heads like those of a conocephaline bush cricket. Nowadays, ''nsenene'' are consumed by most women in the areas where this insect is traditionally eaten.

References

External links

*
Nsenene chronicle
{{Taxonbar, from=Q10657913 Ruspolia Insects described in 1838 Conocephalinae Orthoptera of Africa Edible insects Ugandan cuisine Kenyan cuisine Tanzanian cuisine Taxa named by Jean Guillaume Audinet-Serville