Popcorn anyone?

It's time for another "science news" entry. This one is uh......a juicy one. Crunchy....

So the first thing that drew my attention to THIS particular article was the title.

"Crunchy Big-Butt Ants Entice Gourmands".

As if those qualities were a GOOD thing. In a nutshell, virgin-queen ants, "hormiga culona" (which honestly, I'm not kidding, means big-butt queen ant) are in hot demand right now. Not to be burned with a magnifying glass by an eight year old boy, but to be made into "gourmet" desserts. Dipped in chocolate. Perfectly delightful Belgian Chocolate. They come from Colombia, where people have been eating them for centuries. CENTURIES. Generally the Colombians toast them and eat them as a snack, but now they're being exported (last year they shipped more than 880 pounds of it!) to be dipped in the above mentioned staple for all women, and then sold for as much as $8 for a half dozen at stores like Harrods. $8 for 6 little ants. Maybe little is an understatement, it says they're about an inch long. The French have even gone as far as to name them the "caviar of Santander". The funny thing, is that the Colombians also consider them as pests. Andres Santamaria, a native, best describes their problem - "It's an age-old dilemma for the farmer - should I kill it or eat it?" Not a problem I'd have, I'll tell ya that much. One man organizes a hunt every year during the harvest season (the one time the little buggars come out of their colonies in search of a mate). A 71 year old woman took second place last year, and won herself an electric blender. Fitting, as it states she no longer eats the ants because nearly all her teeth are gone. Maybe she can use it to make herself an ant shake?

All I know is that this is just another thing to add to my Things I Will Never Eat list. Right up there with snails, raw fish, beans of any kind, and milk.

I'll leave you with the article's opening paragraph. Ya know, sort of a palate cleanser...

"The first loud crackle tastes and feels like popcorn, but by the time the juices spray wildly in your mouth and the filament-like legs slide down your throat, there's no mistaking this toasted ant queen."

Now excuse me while I go kill the ants that have decided to call my kitchen "home". I could box them up and ship them, if anyone's interested.