{"id":11189,"date":"2023-04-11T10:54:12","date_gmt":"2023-04-11T09:54:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fei-online.com\/?p=11189"},"modified":"2023-04-11T10:54:12","modified_gmt":"2023-04-11T09:54:12","slug":"scientists-uncover-the-unexpected-identity-of-mezcal-worms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fei-online.com\/scientists-uncover-the-unexpected-identity-of-mezcal-worms\/","title":{"rendered":"Scientists uncover the unexpected identity of mezcal worms"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Scientists uncover the unexpected identity of mezcal worms<\/h1>\/ in Featured Articles<\/a> <\/span><\/span><\/header>\n<\/div><\/section>
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Mezcal is a distilled alcohol made from the boiled and fermented sap of agave plants. Most mezcal beverages \u2013 including all brands of tequila \u2013 are sold as pure distillates, but a few have an added stowaway bottled inside: worms.<\/h3>\n

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Called gusanos de maguey<\/em> (Spanish for agave worms), these odd organic chasers aren\u2019t actually worms, but instead a type of insect larva, and their addition to mezcal is a recent one. Mezcal production has a storied history, dating back to the first Spanish inhabitants of Mexico, but larvae were only added to the drink in the 1940s.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>
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Since then, gusanos<\/em> have helped boost the popularity of mezcal, but their identity has remained elusive. There\u2019s no consensus on what type of larva is used in mezcal or even if it belongs to one or multiple species. They\u2019ve been variously ascribed to moths, butterflies and even a type of weevil.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s relatively easy to broadly determine the kind of larva based on the shape of the head, but their identity has never been confirmed,\u201d said Akito Kawahara, curator at the Florida Museum\u2019s McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity. \u201cThis is probably because most biologists are not looking inside mezcal bottles.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a new study [1], published March 8, 2023 in the journal PeerJ Life & Environment<\/em>, Kawahara and his colleagues decided to pin down the identity of the mezcal gusanos. In 2022, they travelled to Oaxaca Mexico, which has been the centre of mezcal production for hundreds of years. There, they visited distilleries and obtained as many different brands as they could find to ensure a diverse sampling of larvae.<\/p>\n

There were very few distinguishing features that could be used to assign the specimens to a particular group or species; fortunately, mezcal makes an excellent preservative, preventing the decay of the larvae and their internal packets of DNA. The researchers successfully extracted and analyzed genetic material from 18 specimens, but the results they got back were unexpected.<\/p>\n

Since gusanos de maguey<\/em> aren\u2019t commercially farmed, the authors suspected that mezcal worms would likely be sourced from several unrelated species. This included a type of butterfly called the tequila giant skipper (Aegiale hesperiaris<\/em>), which lays its eggs on agave plants. Their large, milky-white caterpillars parasitize several agave species, boring tunnels through the rigid, succulent leaves. The eponymous common name, combined with their white larvae \u2014 which matches the colour of many gusanos de maguey<\/em> \u2014 marked them out as a primary suspect.<\/p>\n

Instead, the DNA unequivocally identified all 18 specimens as the caterpillars of agave redworm moths (Comadia redtenbacheri<\/em>), another type of agave parasite with rosy-hued larvae. The researchers suspect that accounts of white gusanos de maguey<\/em> come from caterpillars that have been stored in alcohol for long amounts of time and have consequently leached their colour.<\/p>\n

Mezcal production<\/h4>\n

The results add a sobering note to what is currently a boom in the international popularity of mezcal. According to a report by Straits Research, an independent analytical firm, the sale of mezcal is expected to increase by 22% in the next decade, reaching $2.1 billion in profits by 2030, riding a growing wave of interest in artisanal, ethically manufactured products.<\/p>\n

Unlike tequila, which is mass-produced in industrial autoclaves, mezcal production continues to rely on small-scale facilities in Mexico\u2019s arid countryside. Farmers roast the barrel-shaped agave cores in open fire pits or specialized kilns, then chop and pulverize the crisp stumps for fermentation and small-batch distribution. It\u2019s unclear whether all mezcal distilleries and landowners will be able to sustainably scale up production to meet demand [2].<\/p>\n

The fate of agave redworm moths is also uncertain. Maguey worms have been harvested as a delicacy for centuries, beginning with the Aztecs. But demand for the larva in Mexican culinary establishments has also seen an increase in recent years [3], to the extent that wild populations of these caterpillars are considered at risk of overharvesting.<\/p>\n

\u201cAgave worms are still fairly common, but the impact of mezcal becoming popular can have long-term negative effects on local populations because they are harvested in the wild,\u201d Kawahara said. Red agave caterpillars burrow deep into the core of their hosts plants, and collecting them often kills the agave. For production to scale with the growing market, it\u2019s possible local harvesters may need to actively grow caterpillars on agave farms or find ways to produce them outside of their host plants.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>
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References<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

1. Kawahara AY, Martinez JI, Plotkin D, Markee A, Butterwort<\/em>
\nV, Couch CD, Toussaint EFA. 2023. Mezcal worm in a bottle: DNA evidence suggests a single moth species. PeerJ 11:e14948 https:\/\/doi.org\/10.7717\/peerj.14948<\/a><\/em>
\n2. https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2073-445X\/11\/3\/387<\/a><\/em>
\n3. Molina-Vega, A., Hern\u00e1ndez-Dom\u00ednguez, E.M., Villa-Garc\u00eda, M. et al. Comadia redtenbacheri (Lepidoptera: Cossidae) and Aegiale hesperiaris (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae), two important edible insects of Agave salmiana (Asparagales: Asparagaceae): a review. Int J Trop Insect Sci 41, 1977\u20131988 (2021). https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s42690-020-00396-1<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>
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