This includes various shades of blue, yellow, red, orange, and green. The ant will also help to feed others in the colony when they are hungry.Īs the honeypot ant expands, its body might also change color depending on the fluid it’s holding. As its name suggests, when it swells up with food, its body will take on a round shape. Over time, other workers will take food from them to survive.Ī rotund honeypot ant is similar to the plerergate ant. When necessary, they will fill themselves with honey or nectar and hang from the top of the colony’s nest. This type of ant is sterile and has only one job – to store food for other members when food becomes scarce. If other ants need some of this stored nectar, the replete ant will regurgitate it for them. When they eat nectar, their abdomen swells. Honeypot ants fits into one of three categories: replete, plerergates, or rotund.Ī replete ant is a worker in the honeypot ant colony. Depending on how much honey they eat, a honeypot ant’s abdomen can get to be as big as a grape. However, their size significantly expands when they devour food. Honeypot ants measure anywhere from ¼ to ½-inch long. Honeypot ants can get as big as the size of a grape This way, they’ll have enough workers to survive. If there aren’t enough honeypot ants in a certain nest to store food, those members might try to conquer a separate honeypot ant colony and carry away its larvae. If there’s a dry spell, the honeypot ant will consume more nectar than necessary to provide for its colony. This will cause the ant to regurgitate the honey so the other ant can eat it. When a colony member needs honey, they will rub on another ant’s antennae. Depending on the colony’s needs, the ant will either drink a little or a lot of the honey. The more fluid it drinks, the bigger its abdomen will get. As it sucks the fluid out of it, the honey will pass through the ant’s body into its abdomen. To store honey, this ant will place its mouth near the honey source. To sum it up, honeypot ants store honey as a way to help them live through scorching temperatures and consistent drought. This way, should there be a drought, the colony will be prepared and have the means to survive. Some honeypot ants might also use their body to store water. Honey provides other ants with plenty of nutrients to help them stay energetic and healthy. This insect stores honey as a way to provide food for other colony members. Honeypot ants stores honey as a way to provide food for other colony members. Some also consume other insects, including the honeydew aphid. Honeypot ants enjoy eating food high in sugarīecause of this, they’ll often be found sipping on honey and plant nectar. You can take your hand and scoop some crawling around on the ground or pluck some hanging from the top of the chamber’s ceiling. Eventually, you’ll find their massive chamber which is filled with honeypot ants. After finding these, dig a bit more into the ground. You’ll soon come into contact with thin vertical tunnels. Once you do, gently dig into the top of it. To find a honeypot nest, you’ll need to look carefully for a large crater-like mound on the ground. Because honeypot ants live inside their nest for such a long time, they are usually safe from predators which helps them have an impressive lifespan of eight years. This is because it’s hard for them to walk around due to their body swelling. Due to their somewhat large size, they’re mainly found inside their nest. Most of the time, they’re located in arid climates, such as Mexico, South Africa, and Australia. Honeypot ants are found in many places throughout the world You’ll discover many fascinating facts about it, such as why they love honey and the unique way they keep food in their body.ġ. If you’re interested in learning more about this intriguing insect, keep reading. They’re known for being living larders because they store food in special bodily compartments that are used to feed other ants in their colony. Honeypot ants were first discovered in 1881 by naturalist Henry Christopher McCook.
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