PHOTO ESSAY: How to eat dried ants!

A local delicacy and definitely an acquired taste, dried white ants pack a powerful protein punch! I had the pleasure of witnessing the bug buffet as it was being prepared. Bon appétit!

First, Walaria tosses the ants onto a concrete slab to let them dry in the sun. After several tosses, the wings fall off. (Yes, that mass of brown on the cement is actually thousands of ants.)

 

 

 

The ants are left for several hours in the sun to dry.

 

 

 

See that mound? It’s actually an ant hill measuring roughly four feet high. At dawn or in the evening, a villager will dig a small hole into the side of the hill, calling the ants to defend their territory. Thousands of winged ants will come pouring out of the hole in a vain attempt to attack the intruder, only to be swept into a net placed shrewdly at the opening.

 

 

 

 

With each toss, more and more white ant wings fall, littering the ground like cherry blossoms in the late spring.

 

 

 

 

What a smile! (And what large hands!!!)

 

Once dried, the ants are fried in oil, and then heavily salted.

 

 

 

 

Perfect snack for the super bowl.

 

 

 

 

 The "white" ants get their name from their white wings. Once roasted, they turn golden brown.

 

Bernardo, my colleague, told me the ants taste like fried salmon skin.

 

 

 

The after-eating-ants face! When I was asked if I wanted to try the fried ants, I did not hesitate to say absolutely not!