A green tree ant stands guard on a leaf nest.

[alexwild@mastodon.online]

A green tree ant stands guard on a leaf nest. Oecophylla smaragdina. These little guys are everywhere in the humid tropics of southeast Asia and Australia and have a lemony flavor. Cairns.

#Ants #AustralianWildlife #Insects #Oecophylla

[c_reider@sonomu.club]

@alexwild have you eaten many of them?

[alexwild@mastodon.online]

@c_reider A couple.

[appassionato@mastodon.social]

@alexwild

You put them in your tea?

[thefathippy@mastodon.world]

@appassionato

Bite their bums off. No, seriously... Just the green bit at the back. Unsurprisingly, they will try to bite you.

@alexwild

[appassionato@mastodon.social]

@thefathippy @alexwild

It does look lemony.

[hicsumus@techhub.social]

@alexwild @c_reider Is there a criteria for deciding when an insect is edible and when it isn't?

[alexwild@mastodon.online]

@Hicsumus @c_reider Avoid things that are brightly marked or have spines. Otherwise, you just sort of try them.

[appassionato@mastodon.social]

@alexwild

Ant with a marble (?)

#photography
#ants

[appassionato@mastodon.social]

@alexwild

Super Ant

#photography
#ants

[appassionato@mastodon.social]

@alexwild

Ants & dew

#photography
#ants

[appassionato@mastodon.social]

@alexwild

Ant bridge.

#photography
#ants

[hicsumus@techhub.social]

@alexwild @c_reider I guess eating the first one's the hardest and it gets easier after that. Maybe, I don't know.

I've tasted tiny fried crickets before, so I don't know why the hesitation over ants.

[jirikiha@raphus.social]

@alexwild @c_reider They have a tendency to drop out of the tree to bite your neck.
That's when I ate them. Turnabout is fair play? ;-D

I don't miss the heat of Cairns, but it was one of the greenest places I've ever lived. Also Walsh's Pyramid just a bit south has a trail to the top with a phenomenal view!

[c_reider@sonomu.club]

@Hicsumus @alexwild ants seem edible enough to me, although the ones i've ever been around have a peculiar smell, so i reckon they'd not taste very good.