Can You Drink Ants?
WouterWhether or not you can drink ants may seem like an odd question. After all, ants are social wasps in the family Formicidae, and they are extremely diverse. In fact, there are over 12,000 species of ants. Some cultures regularly eat them.
But if you really want to drink ants, you need to be prepared for some very nasty side effects. Not only can ants get stuck in your teeth, they can carry parasites and microorganisms. And, if you eat ants, they could also increase the production of uric acid in your body, which can be toxic to your kidneys.
But there is some good news. In some cultures, ants are eaten as a delicacy. They’re roasted, coated with chocolate, or eaten raw.
They can even be made into a cocktail. In Singapore, you can find the “Antz” cocktail, which is a mixture of rum, yogurt, and basil cubes. To make it, you have to bite into a leaf and crunch it in one bite.
The cocktail is served at a local bar called the Native. It is created by Vijay Mudaliar, who mixes it with local ingredients. It also includes black Thai ants as a garnish. It costs $16 in Singapore.
One study from 2003 showed that different ant species had varying water intakes. The smallest ants drank 1/1000th of a drop of water. The largest ants could drink up to 35 microliters. However, the researchers did not measure volume.
