Narrator: These ants produce a delicacy
known as escamoles.
Sometimes called ant caviar,
these larvae can cost $50 per pound.
But to find them, harvesters have to reach inside nests
with thousands of ants.
A nest can produce escamoles for decades,
but poaching and the climate crisis
are threatening this centuries-old food.
So what do these larvae taste like?
And why are they so expensive?
Escamoles are small bean-shaped larvae
that are high in protein.
Here in Mexico, they've been eaten for centuries.
They have a buttery, earthy flavor
and gently pop in your mouth.
Locals say there's nothing else quite like it.
José: They may have this similarity to an egg.
But it's actually the larvae,
the pupas of the future queens.
Narrator: José is a chef and farmer in Mexico.
Today, he's searching for escamoles with his uncle Armando.
Narrator: Harvesters monitor nests throughout the year,
but the actual season is short,
from late February to the end of April.
They head out when the sun is low,
because strong UV rays could actually kill the ants.
But to find escamoles, José first needs to find a nest.
José: Once you find the nest,
you have to understand how to open it
in the most secure way for them,
and for you as well.
Narrator: Another sign that you've found a nest:
the smell.
José: Whew.
Narrator: After 11 years of harvesting,
José can quickly identify the pungent, farty smell.
José: Depending on the strong smell,
you will be able to define if you open it or not.
Narrator: Once José determines a nest
is ready to harvest, it's time to reach in.
The larvae are about half a meter down,
so José uses his whole arm and maguey leaves
to scoop up the ants.
The ants do bite, and they can be ...
one bite is not very strong,
but when you have hundreds of them on you,
then definitely you have a sort of reaction.
Narrator: But even with hundreds of ants crawling on him,
José has to be careful not to damage the nest.
José: You need to keep your product
the most intact as possible.
So if you crush the nest, then everything is gone.
Narrator: Escamoles right out of a nest look like this.
But harvesters can't take everything.
José leaves around 30% to 40%
so that the nest will continue to function.
A properly harvested nest can produce larvae for 20 years.
But if a nest is damaged, the ants could die,
cutting off the supply of escamoles.
But the hard work isn't over yet.
Back at his farm, José carefully cleans the escamoles,
a process that's straightforward but delicate.
At a restaurant in Mexico,
a few grams of escamoles cost around $15.
But the price fluctuates a lot.
José: It's very common to have it around Easter.
So before Easter, the price will go high, high, high,
and then after Easter, it will slowly start to drop.
A kilo can vary
from 1,300
to up to 2,200 pesos.
So, after a quite long morning,
this is what we came up with.
70, maybe 80 grams of escamol.
Narrator: José tries to share his knowledge about escamoles
to encourage sustainable harvesting.
At his family's farm, he prepares escamoles
with serrano peppers, onion, and aloe vera flowers.
José: The texture is a burst of amazing flavor.
It's sort of like a little balloon
that just explodes in your mouth
with this liquid that's magnificent.
So now we add the escamoles.
If you talk to older generations,
the moment you mention escamoles,
they will automatically have a memory.
It's something they've been eating for quite a time,
but not necessarily very often.
Younger generations have been very skeptical on insects.
For younger generations to take that leap of faith
and understand that they're going to be eating
one of the most amazing foods
that they have in their country.
Narrator: José sells his escamoles directly.
But harvesters who work with a middleman
often get cut out of larger profits.
One article from 2016 described escamoleros
getting less than $5 per pound from middlemen.
But for some rural harvesters,
working with an intermediary is the only option.
Narrator: Escamoles are most commonly eaten in Mexico,
but when they're exported, the price can more than double.
In 2019, a chef in Florida reportedly paid $237
for a pound of escamoles.
These high prices have caught the attention
of inexperienced harvesters
who don't know how to extract escamoles sustainably.
Another problem is poachers,
who take larvae from farms and undercut the market price.
José: The restaurants need to understand
that there's a certain quantity that's available,
and that's it.
You can't create more, you can't invent more.
That's what makes you appreciate everything
when you're cooking and how to treat them
with respect and not overwork them.
Narrator: For now, José and his uncle
are focused on teaching rural communities
how to harvest sustainably,
providing valuable income
as well as maintaining the tradition of escamoles.