Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines and Vietnam: These countries as a
group account for a total of 150 to 200 edible insect species. A study by Yhoung-Aree and
Viwatpanish (2005) provides aggregated data (164) on edible insects in Lao PDR, Myanmar,
Thailand and Vietnam. It is obvious from the data that the countries of Indo-China, along with
Myanmar, are quite underrepresented. Indonesia and the Philippines are only slightly better
off. The most comprehensive new study was done in Sabah, Malaysia (Chung et al. 2002).
Different ethnic groups were systematically surveyed and the edible insects were identified by
entomologists. This study should stand as a model of the type of field research needed
elsewhere, including the other states of Malaysia.