Maguey worm

White maguey worm, meocuiles
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Hesperiidae
Genus:	Aegiale
Species:	A. hesperiaris
Binomial name
Aegiale hesperiaris

Chinicuiles for sale at a Mexican market.

A maguey worm (Aegiale hesperiaris) (Spanish: gusano del maguey, chinicuil) is one of two varieties of edible caterpillars that infest maguey and Agave tequilana plants. ^[1][2]

The white maguey worms, known as meocuiles, are caterpillars of a butterfly commonly named "tequila giant skipper," Aegiale hesperiaris. ^[3]

They are found usually in regions of Central Mexico, on the leaves of Agave tequilana, Family Agavaceae plants, and not on cacti, as is often erroneously reported. Aegiale hesperiaris butterflies deposit their eggs at the heart of the leaves of agaves. The larvae then eat the flesh of the agave stems and roots, sometimes boring out the agave completely.

The red maguey worms are known as chilocuiles, chinicuiles or tecoles, and are the larvae of the moth Hypopta agavis. These infest the core and roots of the maguey plant, often in a glutenous mass. Along with agave snout weevil larvae, red maguey worms are one of the types of gusanos found in bottles of mezcal liquor from the Mexican state of Oaxaca.

When fully mature, these caterpillars appear fleshy-red and can measure up to 65 mm. They are considered a highly nutritious delicacy in Mexican cuisine. One 100-gram serving contains over 650 calories, or the equivalent of two plates of rice. While they are sometimes eaten alive and raw, they are also considered delicious deep fried or braised, seasoned with salt, lime, a spicy sauce and served in a tortilla.

References

1. ^ "babelfish". http://babelfish.altavista.com/babelfish/trurl_pagecontent?lp=es_en&url=http%3A%2F%2Fturismo.hidalgo.gob.mx%2Findex.php%3Foption%3Dcontent%26task%3Dview%26id%3D143. ^{[unreliable source?]}
2. ^ "mexicanmercados.com". http://www.mexicanmercados.com/food/meat.htm. ^{[unreliable source?]}
3. ^ "naba.org". http://www.naba.org/chapters/nabast/Aegiale.htm. ^{[unreliable source?]}

External links

http://redalyc.uaemex.mx/pdf/302/30211199012.pdf

• Images of Tequila Giant-Skipper

This Hesperiidae-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · Categories: Mexican cuisine stubs Hesperiidae stubs Hesperiidae Insects as food Mexican ingredients Mexican cuisine Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР? Grand River Airport Philbrook Look at other dictionaries: maguey worm — noun : agaveworm …   Useful english dictionary Mezcal worm — Mezcal worms A mezcal worm is an insect larva found in some types of mezcal produced in Oaxaca, Mexico. The larva is usually either a gusano rojo ( red worm ) or a chinicuil ( maguey worm ), the caterpillar of the Hypopta agavis moth …   Wikipedia Agave americana — Scientific classification Kingdom …   Wikipedia Aztec cuisine — The most important staple of Aztec cuisine was maize (corn), a crop that was so important to Aztec society that it played a central part in their mythology. Just like wheat in Europe or rice in most of East Asia, it was the food without which a… …   Wikipedia Ethnoentomology — is the study of the relationship between insects and people. The name is derived from ethno study of people and entomology study of insects. The focus of ethnoentomolgy is on how insects have been or are being used in human societies around the… …   Wikipedia agaveworm —  ̷ ̷ˈ ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷ˌ ̷ ̷ noun : the larva of various butterflies (as Aegiale hesperiaris) of the family Megathymidae that is fried and eaten in Mexico and the U.S. called also maguey worm …   Useful english dictionary Mezcal — Bottle of mezcal with worm. Mezcal, or mescal, is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from the maguey plant (a form of agave, Agave americana) native to Mexico. The word mezcal comes from Nahuatl metl and ixcalli which mean oven cooked agave. [1] …   Wikipedia Oaxaca — This article is about the state. For the city, see Oaxaca, Oaxaca. For the ship, see Oaxaca (ship). Oaxaca Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca   State   …   Wikipedia lepidopteran — /lep i dop teuhr euhn/, adj. 1. lepidopterous. n. 2. a lepidopterous insect. [1850 55; LEPIDOPTER(A) + AN] * * * Any of the more than 100,000 species constituting the order Lepidoptera (Greek: scaly wing ): butterflies, moths, and skippers. The… …   Universalium List of heraldic charges — This article does not cover those charges which derive their shape in part from that of the field; see Ordinary (heraldry). Subordinary chargesA few simple charges are traditionally, and arbitrarily, classified among the subordinaries. (All other …   Wikipedia 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”