Honeypot ant

The honeypot ant was given this unusual name for its unusual feeding habit. Unlike many other ants, which are carnivorous, or meat-eating, the honeypot ant feeds mostly on honeydew. Honeydew is a substance produced by tiny, plant-living insects called aphids.

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Arthropoda

Class: Insecta

Order: Hymenoptera

Family: Formicidae

Genus: Various (see below)

Species: Various (see below)

There are seven genera of honeypot ants mainly based on their range and location. There are over 30 species of honeypot ants located throughout the world. One species is commonly found throughout North America living in vegetated areas with many tiny, plant-living insects called aphids. Aphids are important to the honeypot ant because they supply this ant with one of its most valuable food sources. Aphids produce a substance called honeydew. Honeydew is a sticky, honey-like substance that rests in droplets on plants infested with aphids. The honeypot ant milks aphids of their honeydew and collects this substance from the plants on which aphids live. The worker honeypot ant stores this substance and feeds it to the queen honeypot ant and the larvae.

The honeypot ant typically grows to be about 1/4 of an inch (1/2 of a centimeter) in length although lengths vary. Its reddish-brown body is divided into the three parts of head, thorax, or mid-body section, and abdomen, or lower-body section. The head is round with the mandibles, or jaws, and antennae extending from the front. The oval thorax bears the six legs of the honeypot ant and is connected to the ant's abdomen by a small moveable joint commonly called a wasp waist. Typically, the internal organs of the honeypot ant are kept in the abdomen. Some worker honeypot ants also store large amounts of honey in their abdomens.

Like other ants, the honeypot ant lives in a large colony of up to 300 honeypot ants. Some colonies may be far larger. A honeypot ant colony may be over six feet (two meters) in width. Each colony contains many chambers and tunnels including a large chamber for the queen honeypot ant and her eggs as well as a large chamber for the honeypot ants which store the honeydew. After they find the honeydew, worker honeypot ants collect it and bring it back to the nest. Their bellies swell with honeydew which is passed to other members of the colony.

The only member of a colony which is able to produce offspring is the queen honeypot ant. She began her life as a young reproductive female who mated with a reproductive male. She then stored the sperm from her mate and formed her own colony. The queen uses that sperm throughout her life to fertilize her eggs. While fertilized eggs develop into females, unfertilized eggs develop into males. When the eggs hatch, they are fed honey from the stored supply in the honeydew chamber. Young honeypot ants quickly mature and join the colony as nonreproductive female workers, reproductive females, or reproductive males. Each of these categories is a separate social group and this kind of social structure is called a caste system. That means that each member of the colony is brought into the world to perform a certain task in a certain position, or caste.

Horned lizards, badgers, and coyotes may prey upon honeypot ants. Worker honeypot ants may live up to two years. Although queen honeypot ants usually average an eight-year life span, some may live over 20 years. Honeypot ants are not threatened species.

Bibliography

“Honeypot Ant.” San Diego Zoo Wildlife Explorers, 2024, sdzwildlifeexplorers.org/animals/honeypot-ant. Accessed 13 Apr. 2024.

“Honeypot Ant (Myrmecocystus Mimicus) Fact Sheet: Summary.” LibGuides, 6 Mar. 2024, ielc.libguides.com/sdzg/factsheets/honeypot-ant. Accessed 13 Apr. 2024.