Green Ants

Have you ever eaten one?....or many?

Years ago I used to run a tour business in Darwin. Amongst other sights I would take my clients out on the Marrakai Plains for an afternoon walk in the scrub.

There used to be a Strychnine Tree with its yellow fruits, growing on a rise. I would tell the folks a yarn about the old fella who lived to be 105 because he ate one of these berries every day.

Now the strychnine berry is the most foulest tasting fruit you may find.

I would entice some to take a bite of the berry advising that its taste may not be all that palatable but I would bite into one myself to prove that it was edible....and that I was going to live for a long time as well.

Those who did so, spat the contents of the berry out in haste, as it leaves the bitterest taste in your mouth.

Then I would tell them that the only cure for that taste was to eat some green ants. I would then shake another tree nearby which had a colony of green ants living in it . The ants would get really angry and run out on to my hand and arm biting all the way. I would then run my mouth over my arm engulfing some ants and start chewing. The green ant is similar to the honey ant as its body contains some green fluid which tastes like citronella. You have to chew quickly, of course, as the ants tend to bite you at every opportunity. The ants also used to get into my beard and bite me later for my troubles.

Aussies normally took the joke in their stride but Europeans and Americans used to throw up on cue.

I always had some licorice or bon bons in my pocket to cure the digusting berry taste for those who refrained from eating ants.

The next time you are in the Top End, go try a green ant.

It is quite tasty.

LOL