Fried spider

In the Cambodian town of Skuon, Cheung Prey, Kampong Cham, the vending of fried spiders as a specialty snack is a popular attraction for tourists.

Spiders are also available elsewhere in Cambodia – in Phnom Penh for instance – but Skuon, a market town on the highway 75 kilometres (47 mi) from the capital, is the centre of their popularity.

[1] The spiders are bred in holes in the ground in villages north of Skuon, or foraged for in nearby forestland, and fried in oil.

[3] One travel book identifies them as Haplopelma albostriatum, known colloquially as the Thailand zebra leg tarantula, and notes that the same species' common name has been the "edible spider" for more than a hundred years.

[6] However, Mexican law forbids the sale of many species of tarantula for human consumption, and vendors offering this item have been shut down by the authorities.