mot (มด)

Thai for ‘ant(s)’. There are about 12,000 known ant species worldwide and also Thailand has its fair share, with in 1997 circa 700 species identified out of an estimated total of about 1,000 species, an educated guess based on the fact that there are some 1,300 to 1,500 species living in all of ASEAN. Some of the more interesting species found in Thailand include the Weaver Ant (fig.) and the Honey Pot Ant, known in Thai as mot daeng (มดแดง) and mot nahm pheung (มดน้ำผึ้ง) or mot toh nahm pheung (มดโถน้ำผึ้ง), respectively. In parts of Thailand, as well as in India and Burma, Weaver Ants are made into a paste, which is served as a condiment with curry, whilst in Isaan and parts of Northern Thailand, the larvae of these red weaver ants (fig.), known in Thai as khai mot daeng (fig.), are eaten as a salad-like dish. Besides this, the sweet sap from so-called honey pots, i.e. the inflated belly or posterior abdomen of honey ants, is also eaten by some. The substance however bears no relation to real honey, but is in fact digestive waste from aphids (plant lice) and contains a high proportion of sugar. The ants collect this sap from the aphids by shoving its belly until it gives up a drop of the liquid. The ants slowly fill up, using their own bodies to store the liquid, becoming like a living jar, able to store up to eight times their own body weight. Mr. Gahn Rommayahsay (กานต์ รมยาสัย), a Bangkok resident, has been collecting and keeping ants since he was just a young kid. With his love and fascination for these tiny creatures he has over time composed a comprehensive and near-professional list of known ant species and proudly owns a huge collection of various living ant species which are kept in translucent plastic boxes, many set up as miniature terrariums. See also termite. 回