Nooo! It's the Agave Worm from a bottle of Mezcal...takin' a sip of Mezcal.
The notorious Worm, Hipopta Agavis , also known as gusano rojo ("red worm") or gusano de maguey (maguey=agave worm) is a lepidopterous of the family Cossidae which perforates bases of Maguey leaves and builds galleries in the stems of some Agaves. The worm is considered a benign plague because of its good looks (very clean, coral color), good flavor and high price it fetches in the traditional Zapotec markets. It is prepared with tortillas or with salt ("worm salt").
Grown -up worm is a small brown butterfly of about 15 mm length. Males have body covered with wings. Females lack wings on the abdomen, their mouth is small and not well developed (oops!) and their back wings are white and furry. The larvae are 25 to 30 mm long, up to 5 mm wide and are bright coral colored.
Because of the flavor and fragrance that the worm gives to Mezcal, salt and salsas, it is very much in demand and difficult to find even in season. Therefore, some producers started to use another variety, Atrovirens , a white worm that inhabits leaves. The red is found in roots or the head of maguey. Both types are different in smell, color and flavor. The red variety is considered the superior one. In the bottle, it slowly loses its bright coral hue, becames paler and paler - but never turns ash-grey like the other variety.
In the prehispanic cultures the worm was eaten by itself and was highly appreciated as condiment.Some Indian tribes thought of the worm as a powerful aphrodisiac, that also blessed the warriors with virility and strength.The addition of worm to Mezcal was meant as proof of alcohol content but it considerably alters the taste, smell and color of liquor. To eat a worm when the bottle is empty is said to give a powerful "kick", very similar to "doing the roach" after taking your CA / AZ prescribed medication.
