Ruspolia Differens
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Nsenene is the
Luganda Ganda 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 5.56 million Ganda people, Baganda and other people principally in central Uganda, includ ...
name for ''Ruspolia differens'': a bush cricket (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'', the large conehead, is a species of bush cricket 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 bee ...
''.


Distribution and traditional beliefs

Nsenene (Known also as "Senene"). This species has long been known as one of the many totems of Buganda Kingdom of Uganda. This species is a delicacy in central and south-western
Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...
. The
insect Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...
is also found in
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
,
Malawi Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast, and Mozambique to the east, south, and southwest. Malawi spans over and ...
,
Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of ci ...
, Congo,
Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...
,
Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...
,
Burundi Burundi, officially the Republic of Burundi, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is located in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa, with a population of over 14 million peop ...
,
Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...
,
Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...
,
Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...
,
Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...
,
Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...
,
Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...
, and
Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...
. 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. In Tanzania, among the Haya regions, ''nsenene'' is a popular delicacy consumed by men and women of all ages.


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