The oft-mentioned Arculf saw a clear spring in the desert, from
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which, according to tradition, the holy John the Baptist used to drink.
It has a white-washed stone covering. (23) Now concerning this John
the evangelists write: ‘His food was locusts and wild honey.’ In the
solitude where John used to live our friend Arculf saw a very small
type of locust, the body being thin and short like one's finger. As their
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range of flight is very short, like the leaping of light frogs, they are
easily captured in the grass. When cooked with oil they provide meagre
sustenance. Concerning the wild honey we learned this much from
Arculf's experience. This is what he said: ‘In that desert I saw certain
trees, the broad round leaves of which are of milky colour and have the
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flavour of honey. Now the nature of these leaves is very fragile, and those
who wish to take them as food first grind them in their hands and then
eat them. And this is the wild honey which is so found in the woods.’