Concern as Somalis 'get high' on ants

Police in Somalia have classified a particular kind of ant as a drug, after discovering that people were steaming the insects and inhaling their vapour to get high.

Odorous house ants, whose scientific name is tapinoma sessile, are known to contain formic acid.

There are accounts of birds appearing "drunk" after eating large quantities of these ants, and a security officer has told TV station Somali Cable that humans are deliberately using it to similar effect.

"They cut off the ants' bottoms, then they put them in the pan with the lid on - after it's boiled for a while people sit around and hover over it, and they get high," he says in the clip below.

When the presenter asks "is this real?" He replies, "yes - then they become light-headed".

He even suggests that there is now a "shortage" of these ants because people are going out and looking for them.

Doctors, however, warn that coming into contact with formic acid can cause dizziness, nausea and vomiting.

So, don't try this one at home.

This article originally appeared in BBC News

Photo: Steven M. Valles/USDA Agricultural Research Service