Making Ant Yogurt: Microbial Minutes
Scientists recently dove into the traditional Turkish and Bulgarian practice of making ant yogurt, exploring how and why it works from a host and microbial lens.
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If there’s an ant in your yogurt, it’s not usually a welcome occurrence.But what if the ant was responsible for making the yogurt, yogurt?
A traditional Turkish and Bulgarian yogurt-making practice, ant yogurt is made by incubating red wood ants (Formica spp.) or ant eggs, larvae pupae or nesting material with milk. Scientists recently dove into this practice, exploring how and why it works from a host and microbial lens. Key take aways and resources used in this Microbial Minutes are below.
Key Take Aways
- Fermented foods have been integral to cultures around the world for thousands of years. Among fermented dairy products, yogurt is widely consumed today.
- Industrialized yogurt relies on a small number of bacterial taxa, with Lactobacillus delbrueckii subspecies bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus being the most widely used. Traditional yogurt—and fermented foods in general—are more varied in their production and microbiological composition.
- Researchers examined the process of ant yogurt production, diving specifically into the host and microbial processes behind it. Live Formica ants were added to milk and incubated overnight to produce yogurt.
- Examinations of the ant and yogurt microbiomes revealed bacteria involved in fermentation, including lactic acid bacteria and a species associated with sourdough fermentation. Products from the ant (e.g., formic acid) were also important in yogurt production.
- The bacterial diversity of ants and their metabolic functions may be useful for different fermentation applications, including sourdough bread and plant-based yogurts. Ant yogurt also provides a unique opportunity to explore host-microbe-environmental interactions with practical implications.
Resources
Featured Study
- Sinotte V.M., et al. . iScience, Oct. 17, 2025.
Additional Sources
- Avina, S. Raw Milk Microbiology: Unfiltered and Unfriendly. American Society for Microbiology, May 13, 2025.
- . DPDx - Laboratory Identification of Parasites of Public Health Concern, last reviewed August 16, 2019.
- Herve-Jimenenez, L., et al. . Applied and Environmental Microbiology, April 1, 2009.
- Ant Yogurt and Fine Chocolate. This Week in Microbiology, Nov. 7, 2025.
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