Ants?

[Biddlesby]

Found an ant nest under an old stone tub in the garden. Just wondering if these are the right kind of ants to eat the pupae? Obviously I couldn't really get any pictures of individual ants, they were all too busy for a photoshoot, but I hope you can guess from the nest?

Cheers

 

[gregorach]

I'm pretty sure that all ant pupae are edibile, if you really want to...

 

[bambodoggy]

By "the right kind of ants", I'm guessing you're asking if they are the same as you see people eating on the telly....well no, actually on tv they are eating wood ant larve and what you've got their are normal common black ants. However, as Gregorach says if you really want to you can eat just about any ant larve.

Cheers,

Bam.

 

[xylaria]

I agree with the other two. Insect grubs they are protein source if want them to be.

remember that wood ants bite and spit acid if you disturb the nest:BlueTeamE
Some species of wood ant in britian are very rare but the small black ants are common pests.

 

[Matt Weir]

Go on, have a taste and give us the gourmets verdict.

 

[rich59]

When I was a kid we had a gold fish, and we bought ants eggs to feed it. One day we found lots of ant pupae in the garden and fed the gold fish that. The next day the goldfish was dead. I don't know if we killed it with the pupae.

 

[fredcraft]

I was sure I had read it here somewhere : here !

Great pictures and also an interesting insight into the consumption of insects.

 

[Biddlesby]

Ack I missed 'em. Either that or they have taken them deeper into the nest.

Cheers everybody for your replies!

 

[Biddlesby]

Scrap that, I found some. Overcooked them a bit, but they are quite tasty, very distinctive.

 

[fredcraft]

Talk about a man who'll try anything at least once ! Can you link it's taste with any meat we would know ?

My only regret is that you did not provide any picture

 

[RobertRogers]

ahhh, if a person can eat a clam (a worm in a shell that filters waste out of water) then they should be able to eat an ant!

 

[BOD]

Scrap that, I found some. Overcooked them a bit, but they are quite tasty, very distinctive.

Well done Biddlesby! :You_Rock_


Fred has directed you to some other possibilities with ants.

There is also a fine book which by chance I am re-reading again called Ant Egg Soup. It is a great book about travels and bush meals in Laos. I recommend it

 

[Nightwalker]

Protein!

 

[Jodie]

I was sure I had read it here somewhere : here !

I feel fascinated but queasy and probably wouldn't eat any of that. In my normal
social sphere I'd never meet people who would eat that, so I do appreciate the
horizon-broadening capacity of this forum!!

We tend to go out for pasta round here

And by pasta I mean of the tomato sauce or pesto variety etc before any of you get
cute with pictures of ants featuring in Italian cuisine...

 

[Toadflax]

Scrap that, I found some. Overcooked them a bit, but they are quite tasty, very distinctive.

Did you ever try any of the ants themselves? I was watching Wild Food again and saw Gordon Hillman enthusing about eating wood ants (as well as the larvae) - and saying about how his two grandsons now eat ants when they are out with him in the woods. We often get what are probably the black ants in our garden and it is something that I feel I should try once - just for the experience - though I do wonder with their small size whether they are really worthwhile compared to the larger red wood ants. It would make a good party piece if I had to go to a snobby acquaintance's barbecue if I started picking ants out of their garden and eating them.

I remember that Palms Delicatessen in the covered market in Oxford used to sell chocolate covered ants years ago.

I'm not sure I could go as far as eating worms, though, except in desperation - though my compost heap must have a lot of protein in it. I think I'd have to go for the dried and powered worms in a stew option.


Geoff

 

[Matt Weir]

Can you link it's taste with any meat we would know ?

Must be... chicken!

 

[andy_e]

I'll get mine from edible.com for now thanks ;-)

(No connection with site, just a customer)

 

[PJMCBear]

I've bought a few Xmas presents from there this year. Choc covered ants, Rudolph pate, Crocodile curry and Scorpion toffee. Thought they'd be a little more interesting than socks.

 

[andy_e]

Have had loads of stuff off them over the past few years, always a good source of Xmas pressies, much to the disgust of my friends and family - hehehe - great for an introduction to entomophagy. Talking of which a friend of mine has taken to eating bird-feed mealworms that they bought to feed to their rats, not that I'd recommend that since it says "Not For Human Consumption" on tub. However they insist that the mealworms are delicious.

 

[h2o]

why not use the pupae as bait and try to catch a fish?