New Study Reveals That There Is Insect DNA In Your Tea

According to the published research report titled “The Bug in a Teacup – monitoring arthropod-plant associations from environmental DNA with dried plant material,” the abstract notes that, “Atypically for eDNA, arthropod DNA in dried plants shows very high temporal stability, opening up plant archives as a source for historical arthropod eDNA.” With this discovery, scientists are able to look at a clear, decisive “map” of the history of numerous plants.

A tea bag’s infinitesimal size belies the immense significance of this discovery, providing data that were once unable to gather otherwise. This is due to the fact that the minuscule traces of insect DNA in tea bags were from “crushed, dried plant material,” which would have otherwise been lost due to UV light or being washed away by rain. In this case, the DNA has been preserved (much like the mosquito in amber from the aforementioned “Jurassic Park” reference). In addition to shining a light on our Earth’s history, this information can also help inform what plants attract which insects. This also can help dictate where certain teas or herbs may have originated from.