Honeypot Ant

Honeypot ants, also called honey ants, are ants which have specialized workers—repletes, plerergates or rotunds—that consume large amounts of food to the point that their abdomens swell enormously. This phenomenon of extreme inflation of the trunk is called physogastry. Other ants then extract nourishment from them, through the process of trophallaxis. They function as living larders. Honeypot ants belong to any of several genera, including Myrmecocystus and Camponotus. They were first documented in 1881 by Henry C. McCook, and described further in 1908 by William Morton Wheeler. Scientific Name: Myrmecocystus Range: Arid regions worldwide, with North American species in deserts Size: Workers 5—10 mm; repletes balloon to many times that size Status: Native ID Notes: Specialized worker caste ('repletes') hangs from ceiling of nest, abdomens swollen with stored nectar/honeydew to feed colony. Behavior / Notes: Sweet repletes are dug up and eaten as a delicacy by Aboriginal Australian and Native American peoples.