Ant eggs (, ) refer to both the

eggs An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo begins to develop. Egg, EGG or eggs may also refer to: Biology * Egg cell, the female reproductive cell (gamete) in oogamous organisms Food * Eggs as food Places * Egg, Austria * Egg, Switzerland ...

and

pupae A pupa (; : pupae) is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their life cycle, the stages th ...

weaver ant Weaver ants or green ants are eusocial insects of the Hymenoptera family Formicidae belonging to the tribe Oecophyllini. Weaver ants live in trees (they are obligately arboreal) and are known for their unique nest building behaviour where wor ...

s (''

Oecophylla smaragdina ''Oecophylla smaragdina'' (common names include Asian weaver ant, weaver ant, green ant, green tree ant, and orange gaster) is a species of tree, arboreal ant found in tropical Asia and Australia. These ants form colonies with multiple nests in ...

'', known in Thailand as red ants) eaten in several countries across

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

, especially

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

and Northeastern

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

(

Isan Northeast Thailand or Isan (Isan language, Isan/, ; ; also written as Isaan, Isarn, Issarn, Issan, Esan, or Esarn; from Pāli ''isāna'' or Sanskrit ईशान्य ''īśānya'' "northeast") consists of 20 provinces in northeastern Thai ...

). They are high in

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residue (biochemistry), residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including Enzyme catalysis, catalysing metab ...

and enjoyed for their sourness and pop when eaten along with salads. Maeng mun is a similar ant with eggs eaten in northern Thailand. Maeng mun are an underground species of ant.

Nutrition

Ant eggs are a high source of

. 100 grams contains more than 8.2 grams of protein. They have less fat and calories than

chicken eggs Humans and other Hominidae, hominids have consumed Egg, eggs for millions of years. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especially chickens. People in Southeast Asia began harvesting chicken eggs for food by 1500 BCE. Eggs of oth ...

by containing only 2.6 grams of

fat In nutrition science, nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such chemical compound, compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food. The term often refers specif ...

while chicken egg contains more than 11.7 grams. They contain other minerals such as;

calcium Calcium is a chemical element; it has symbol Ca and atomic number 20. As an alkaline earth metal, calcium is a reactive metal that forms a dark oxide-nitride layer when exposed to air. Its physical and chemical properties are most similar to it ...

phosphorus Phosphorus is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol P and atomic number 15. All elemental forms of phosphorus are highly Reactivity (chemistry), reactive and are therefore never found in nature. They can nevertheless be prepared ar ...

iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...

sodium Sodium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Na (from Neo-Latin ) and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal. Sodium is an alkali metal, being in group 1 element, group 1 of the peri ...

potassium Potassium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol K (from Neo-Latin ) and atomic number19. It is a silvery white metal that is soft enough to easily cut with a knife. Potassium metal reacts rapidly with atmospheric oxygen to ...

vitamin B1 Thiamine, also known as thiamin and vitamin B1, is a vitamin – an essential micronutrient for humans and animals. It is found in food and commercially synthesized to be a dietary supplement or medication. Phosphorylated forms of thia ...

vitamin B2 Riboflavin, also known as vitamin B2, is a vitamin found in food and sold as a dietary supplement. It is essential to the formation of two major coenzymes, flavin mononucleotide and flavin adenine dinucleotide. These coenzymes are involved in ...

and

Niacin Nicotinic acid, or niacin, is an organic compound and a vitamer of vitamin B3, an essential human nutrient. It is produced by plants and animals from the amino acid tryptophan. Nicotinic acid is also a prescription medication. Amounts f ...

Uses

Red ant eggs are cooked in types of food such as red ant egg salad (ก้อยไข่มดเเดง). Because they contain

acetic acid Acetic acid , systematically named ethanoic acid , is an acidic, colourless liquid and organic compound with the chemical formula (also written as , , or ). Vinegar is at least 4% acetic acid by volume, making acetic acid the main compone ...

, red ant eggs are used instead of

lemon juice The lemon (''Citrus'' × ''limon'') is a species of small evergreen tree in the ''Citrus'' genus of the flowering plant family Rutaceae. A true lemon is a hybrid of the citron and the bitter orange. Its origins are uncertain, but some ...

vinegar Vinegar () is an aqueous solution of diluted acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains from 5% to 18% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting ...

in many Thai dishes.

Ant egg soup Ant egg soup is a soup made from the eggs of the weaver ant species ''Oecophylla smaragdina''. Ant egg soups are traditional dishes in northern Lao and Thai cuisine. They are also enjoyed on China's Hainan Island. In addition to soups where the ...

is a traditional dish of Laos, but popularity of the dish is waning in the younger generations. Ant eggs are also sold canned.

Farming

Farming for red ant eggs is seen as a useful, low-cost business for poor communities. Multiple nests can be grown on a single tree, such as mango or palm, and they are given supplemental food and sugar water until the eggs are to be harvested. Spawning season is from September to December and from January to April. Eggs can be collected in May and June, but care is taken not to damage the rest of the nest or kill any of the remaining ants.{{cite web, title=The Making Red Ant Farm for Commerce, url=http://www.rdi.ku.ac.th/kasetresearch54/GroupEconomic/01-Decha_Wiwat/template.html, url-status=dead, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150824173744/http://www.rdi.ku.ac.th/kasetresearch54/GroupEconomic/01-Decha_Wiwat/template.html, archive-date=2015-08-24, access-date=2014-11-23, website=ku.ac.th

References

Lao cuisine Isan cuisine Insects as food Eggs (food)

Nutrition

Uses

Farming

See also

References