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*Myrmecocystus* honeypot ants, showing the repletes or plerergates, their abdomens swollen to store honey, above ordinary workers

Honeypot ants, also called honey ants, are ants which have specialized workers (repletes,^[1] plerergates, or rotunds) that consume large amounts of food to the point that their abdomens swell enormously. 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,^[2]^[3] and described further in 1908 by William Morton Wheeler.^[4]

Behavior[edit]

Many insects, notably honey bees and some wasps, collect and store liquid for use at a later date. However, these insects store their food within their nest or in combs. Honey ants are unique in using their own bodies as living storage, used later by their fellow ants when food is otherwise scarce. When the liquid stored inside a honeypot ant is needed, the worker ants stroke the antennae of the honeypot ant, causing the honeypot ant to regurgitate the stored liquid from its crop.^[4]^[5]

Anatomy[edit]

Honeypot ants compared to a human hand. The dark dorsal sclerites are widely separated by the stretched arthrodial membrane of the inflated abdomen of each replete.

The abdomen of species like Camponotus inflatus consists of hard dorsal sclerites (stiff plates) connected by a softer, more flexible arthrodial membrane. When the abdomen is empty, the arthrodial membrane is folded and the sclerites overlap, but when the abdomen fills the arthrodial membrane becomes fully stretched, leaving the sclerites widely separated.^[6]

Ecology[edit]

Myrmecocystus nests are found in a variety of arid or semiarid environments. Some species live in extremely hot deserts, others reside in transitional habitats, and still other species can be found in woodlands which are somewhat cool but still very dry for a large part of the year. For instance, the well-studied Myrmecocystus mexicanus resides in the arid and semiarid habitats of the southwestern United States. Sterile workers in this species act as plerergates or repletes during times of food scarcity. When the plerergates are fully engorged, they become immobile and hang from the ceilings of the underground nests. Other workers drain them of their liquid food stores to feed the rest of the colony. Plerergates can live anywhere in the nest, but in the wild, they are found deep underground, unable to move, swollen to the size of grapes.^[7]

In Camponotus inflatus in Australia, repletes formed 49% (516 ants) of a colony of 1063 ants, and 46% (1835 ants) of a colony of 4019 ants. The smaller colony contained six wingless queens. The larger colony had 66 chambers containing repletes, with a maximum of 191 repletes in a chamber. The largest replete was 15 millimetres long and had a mass of 1.4 grams. The nest had a maximum depth of 1.7 metres, and tunnels stretched 2.4 metres from the nest entrance. The workers went out foraging during daylight to collect nectar from Mulga nectaries, and meat from the carcass of a Tiliqua blue-tongued lizard.^[8]

Genera[edit]

Honeypot food storage has been adopted in several seasonally active ant genera:^[9]

Camponotus of Australia^[9]
Cataglyphis of North Africa^[9]
Leptomyrmex of Melanesia^[9]
Melophorus of Australia^[9]
Myrmecocystus of North America.^[9]^[10]
Plagiolepis of South Africa ^{[citation needed]}
Prenolepis of North America^[9]

In human culture[edit]

Honeypot ants such as Melophorus bagoti and Camponotus spp. are edible insects and form an occasional part of the diet of various Indigenous Australians. These people scrape the surface to locate the ants' vertical tunnels, and then dig as much as two metres deep to find the honeypots.^[11] Papunya, in Australia's Northern Territory, is named after a honey ant creation story, or Dreaming, which belongs to the people there, such as the Warlpiri. The honey ants were celebrated in the Western Desert Art Movement's The Honey Ant Mural, painted in 1971.^[12]

References[edit]

^ "Replete". Antbase. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
^ McCook, Henry C. (1882). The Honey and Occident Ants.
^ McCook, Henry C. (1907). Nature's craftsmen; popular studies of ants and other insects. Harper and Brothers. pp. 96–111.
^ ^a ^b Wheeler, William Morton (March 1908). "The Polymorphism of Ants". Annals of the Entomological Society of America. 1: 39–69. doi:10.1093/aesa/1.1.39. (subscription required)
^ "Honey Ant Adaptations". National Geographic. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
^ Gullan, P. J.; Cranston, P. S. (2009). The Insects: An Outline of Entomology. John Wiley & Sons. p. 25. ISBN 978-1-4051-4457-5.
^ Conway, John R. (1986). "The Biology of Honey Ants". The American Biology Teacher. 48 (6): 335–343. doi:10.2307/4448321. JSTOR 4448321.
^ Conway, John R. (June 1991). "The biology and aboriginal use of the honeypot ant, 'Camponotus inflatus' Lubbock, in Northern Territory, Australia". Australian Entomologist. 18 (2): 49–56.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Schultheiss, P.; Schwarz, S.; Wystrach, A. (2010). "Nest Relocation and Colony Founding in the Australian Desert Ant, Melophorus bagoti Lubbock (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)". Psyche: A Journal of Entomology. 2010: 1–4. doi:10.1155/2010/435838.
^ Morgan, R. Biology, husbandry and display of the diurnal honey ant Myrmecocystus mendax Wheeler (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Archived 2010-07-17 at the Wayback Machine
^ "Use of Insects by Australian Aborigines". Insects.org. 2011. Archived from the original on 25 August 2012. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
^ "Papunya Tula art movement of the Western Desert". Australian Government. Archived from the original on 8 August 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2016.

External links[edit]

Media related to Honeypot ants at Wikimedia Commons
Empire of the Desert Ants at naturedocumentaries.org Retrieved 16 July 2023

[1] "Replete". Antbase. Retrieved 30 July 2016.

[2] McCook, Henry C. (1882). The Honey and Occident Ants.

[3] McCook, Henry C. (1907). Nature's craftsmen; popular studies of ants and other insects. Harper and Brothers. pp. 96–111.

[Wheeler1908-4] Wheeler, William Morton (March 1908). "The Polymorphism of Ants". Annals of the Entomological Society of America. 1: 39–69. doi:10.1093/aesa/1.1.39. (subscription required)

[NG-5] "Honey Ant Adaptations". National Geographic. Retrieved 30 July 2016.

[GullanCranston2009-6] Gullan, P. J.; Cranston, P. S. (2009). The Insects: An Outline of Entomology. John Wiley & Sons. p. 25. ISBN 978-1-4051-4457-5.

[7] Conway, John R. (1986). "The Biology of Honey Ants". The American Biology Teacher. 48 (6): 335–343. doi:10.2307/4448321. JSTOR 4448321.

[8] Conway, John R. (June 1991). "The biology and aboriginal use of the honeypot ant, 'Camponotus inflatus' Lubbock, in Northern Territory, Australia". Australian Entomologist. 18 (2): 49–56.

[Schultheiss-9] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Schultheiss, P.; Schwarz, S.; Wystrach, A. (2010). "Nest Relocation and Colony Founding in the Australian Desert Ant, Melophorus bagoti Lubbock (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)". Psyche: A Journal of Entomology. 2010: 1–4. doi:10.1155/2010/435838.

[10] Morgan, R. Biology, husbandry and display of the diurnal honey ant Myrmecocystus mendax Wheeler (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Archived 2010-07-17 at the Wayback Machine

[IO-11] "Use of Insects by Australian Aborigines". Insects.org. 2011. Archived from the original on 25 August 2012. Retrieved 21 May 2016.

[12] "Papunya Tula art movement of the Western Desert". Australian Government. Archived from the original on 8 August 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2016.

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{short description|Ants that store food in living workers}}
+{{Short description|Ants that store food in living workers}}
-[[File:HoneyAnt.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|''[[Myrmecocystus]]'' honeypot ants, showing the repletes or plerergates, their abdomens swollen to store honey, above ordinary workers]]
+[[File:HoneyAnt.jpg|thumb|''[[Myrmecocystus]]'' honeypot ants, showing the repletes or plerergates, their abdomens swollen to store honey, above ordinary workers]]
-'''Honeypot ants''', also called '''honey ants''', are [[ant]]s which have specialized workers ('''repletes''',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://antbase.org/databases/glossary_files/glossary_QU.htm  |title=Replete |publisher=Antbase |accessdate=30 July 2016}}</ref> '''plerergates''', or '''rotunds''') that are gorged with [[food]] by [[worker ant|workers]] to the point that their [[abdomen]]s swell enormously. Other ants then extract [[nourishment]] from them, through the process of [[trophallaxis]]. They function as living [[larder]]s. Honeypot ants belong to any of several genera, including ''[[Myrmecocystus]]'' and ''[[Camponotus]]''. They were first documented in 1881 by [[Henry C. McCook]],<ref>{{cite book|authorlink=Henry Christopher McCook|last1=McCook|first1=Henry C.|title=The Honey and Occident Ants|date=1882|publisher=}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|authorlink=Henry Christopher McCook|last1=McCook|first1=Henry C.|title=Nature's craftsmen; popular studies of ants and other insects|date=1907|publisher=Harper and Brothers|url=https://archive.org/details/naturescraftsmen00mcco|pages=96–111}}</ref> and described further in 1908 by [[William Morton Wheeler]].<ref name=Wheeler1908/>
+'''Honeypot ants''', also called '''honey ants''', are [[ant]]s which have specialized workers ('''repletes''',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://antbase.org/databases/glossary_files/glossary_QU.htm  |title=Replete |publisher=Antbase |access-date=30 July 2016}}</ref> '''plerergates''', or '''rotunds''') that consume large amounts of [[food]] to the point that their [[abdomen]]s swell enormously. Other ants then extract [[nourishment]] from them, through the process of [[trophallaxis]]. They function as living [[larder]]s. Honeypot ants belong to any of several genera, including ''[[Myrmecocystus]]'' and ''[[Camponotus]]''. They were first documented in 1881 by [[Henry Christopher McCook|Henry C. McCook]],<ref>{{cite book|author-link=Henry Christopher McCook|last1=McCook|first1=Henry C.|title=The Honey and Occident Ants|date=1882}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author-link=Henry Christopher McCook|last1=McCook|first1=Henry C.|title=Nature's craftsmen; popular studies of ants and other insects|date=1907|publisher=Harper and Brothers|url=https://archive.org/details/naturescraftsmen00mcco|pages=[https://archive.org/details/naturescraftsmen00mcco/page/96 96]–111}}</ref> and described further in 1908 by [[William Morton Wheeler]].<ref name=Wheeler1908/>
 ==Behavior==
-Many insects, notably honey bees and some wasps, collect and store liquid for use at a later date. However, these insects store their food within their nest or in combs. Honey ants are unique in using their own bodies as living storage, used later by their fellow ants when food is otherwise scarce. When the liquid stored inside a honeypot ant is needed, the worker ants stroke the antennae of the honeypot ant, causing the honeypot ant to regurgitate the stored liquid from its [[crop (anatomy)|crop]].<ref name=Wheeler1908>{{cite journal|last1=Wheeler|first1=William Morton|authorlink1=William Morton Wheeler|title=The Polymorphism of Ants|journal=Annals of the Entomological Society of America|date=March 1908|pages=39–69|doi=10.1093/aesa/1.1.39|url=http://aesa.oxfordjournals.org/content/1/1/39}} (subscription required)</ref><ref name=NG>{{cite web|title=Honey Ant Adaptations |url=http://nationalgeographic.org/media/honey-ant-adaptations-wbt/ |publisher=[[National Geographic Society|National Geographic]] |accessdate=30 July 2016}}</ref>
+Many insects, notably honey bees and some wasps, collect and store liquid for use at a later date. However, these insects store their food within their nest or in combs. Honey ants are unique in using their own bodies as living storage, used later by their fellow ants when food is otherwise scarce. When the liquid stored inside a honeypot ant is needed, the worker ants stroke the antennae of the honeypot ant, causing the honeypot ant to regurgitate the stored liquid from its [[crop (anatomy)|crop]].<ref name=Wheeler1908>{{cite journal|last1=Wheeler|first1=William Morton|author-link1=William Morton Wheeler|title=The Polymorphism of Ants|journal=Annals of the Entomological Society of America|date=March 1908|volume=1|pages=39–69|doi=10.1093/aesa/1.1.39}} (subscription required)</ref><ref name=NG>{{cite web|title=Honey Ant Adaptations |url=http://nationalgeographic.org/media/honey-ant-adaptations-wbt/ |publisher=[[National Geographic Society|National Geographic]] |access-date=30 July 2016}}</ref>
 ==Anatomy==
@@ Line 15: / Line 15: @@
 ==Ecology==
-''[[Myrmecocystus]]'' nests are found in a variety of arid or semiarid environments. Some species live in extremely hot deserts, others reside in transitional habitats, and still other species can be found in woodlands which are somewhat cool but still very dry for a large part of the year.  For instance, the well-studied ''[[Myrmecocystus mexicanus]]'' resides in the arid and semiarid habitats of the southwestern U.S. Sterile workers in this species act as plerergates or repletes during times of food scarcity.  When the pleregates are fully engorged, they become immobile and hang from the ceilings of the underground nests. Other workers drain them of their liquid food stores to feed the rest of the colony. Plerergates can live anywhere in the nest, but in the wild, they are found deep underground, unable to move, swollen to the size of grapes.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Conway, John R. |title=The Biology of Honey Ants |journal=The American Biology Teacher |volume=48 |issue=6 |date=1986 |pages=335–343 |doi=10.2307/4448321}}</ref>
+''[[Myrmecocystus]]'' nests are found in a variety of arid or semiarid environments. Some species live in extremely hot deserts, others reside in transitional habitats, and still other species can be found in woodlands which are somewhat cool but still very dry for a large part of the year.  For instance, the well-studied ''[[Myrmecocystus mexicanus]]'' resides in the arid and semiarid habitats of the southwestern United States. Sterile workers in this species act as plerergates or repletes during times of food scarcity.  When the plerergates are fully engorged, they become immobile and hang from the ceilings of the underground nests. Other workers drain them of their liquid food stores to feed the rest of the colony. Plerergates can live anywhere in the nest, but in the wild, they are found deep underground, unable to move, swollen to the size of grapes.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Conway, John R. |title=The Biology of Honey Ants |journal=The American Biology Teacher |volume=48 |issue=6 |date=1986 |pages=335–343 |doi=10.2307/4448321|jstor=4448321 }}</ref>
-In ''Camponotus inflatus'' in Australia, repletes formed 49% (516 ants) of a colony of 1063 ants, and 46% (1835 ants) of a colony of 4019 ants. The smaller colony contained six wingless queens. The larger colony had 66 chambers containing repletes, with a maximum of 191 repletes in a chamber. The largest replete was 15 millimetres long and had a mass of 1.4 grams. The nest had a maximum depth of 1.7 metres, and tunnels stretched 2.4 metres from the nest entrance. The workers went out foraging during daylight to collect nectar from ''[[Acacia aneura|Mulga]]'' nectaries, and meat from the carcass of a ''[[Tiliqua]]'' blue-tonged lizard.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Conway |first1=John R. |title=The biology and aboriginal use of the honeypot ant, 'Camponotus inflatus' Lubbock, in Northern Territory, Australia |journal=Australian Entomologist |date=June 1991 |volume=18 |issue=2 |pages=49–56 |url=http://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=108392124224680;res=IELHSS}}</ref>
+In ''Camponotus inflatus'' in Australia, repletes formed 49% (516 ants) of a colony of 1063 ants, and 46% (1835 ants) of a colony of 4019 ants. The smaller colony contained six wingless queens. The larger colony had 66 chambers containing repletes, with a maximum of 191 repletes in a chamber. The largest replete was 15 millimetres long and had a mass of 1.4 grams. The nest had a maximum depth of 1.7 metres, and tunnels stretched 2.4 metres from the nest entrance. The workers went out foraging during daylight to collect nectar from ''[[Acacia aneura|Mulga]]'' nectaries, and meat from the carcass of a ''[[Tiliqua]]'' blue-tongued lizard.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Conway |first1=John R. |title=The biology and aboriginal use of the honeypot ant, 'Camponotus inflatus' Lubbock, in Northern Territory, Australia |journal=Australian Entomologist |date=June 1991 |volume=18 |issue=2 |pages=49–56 |url=http://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=108392124224680;res=IELHSS}}</ref>
 ==Genera==
-Honeypot food storage has been adopted in several seasonally active ant genera:<ref name=Schultheiss>{{Cite journal | last1=Schultheiss | first1=P. | last2=Schwarz | first2=S. | last3=Wystrach | first3=A. | title=Nest Relocation and Colony Founding in the Australian Desert Ant, ''Melophorus bagoti'' Lubbock (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) | doi=10.1155/2010/435838 | journal=Psyche: A Journal of Entomology | volume=2010 | pages=1 | year=2010}}</ref>
+Honeypot food storage has been adopted in several seasonally active ant genera:<ref name=Schultheiss>{{Cite journal | last1=Schultheiss | first1=P. | last2=Schwarz | first2=S. | last3=Wystrach | first3=A. | title=Nest Relocation and Colony Founding in the Australian Desert Ant, ''Melophorus bagoti'' Lubbock (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) | doi=10.1155/2010/435838 | journal=Psyche: A Journal of Entomology | volume=2010 | pages=1–4 | year=2010| doi-access=free }}</ref>
 * ''[[Camponotus]]'' of Australia<ref name=Schultheiss/>
 * ''[[Cataglyphis]]'' of North Africa<ref name=Schultheiss/>
@@ Line 32: / Line 32: @@
 ==In human culture==
+[[File:Yuendumu Gold 04.jpg|thumb|250x250px|Digging for honey ants]]
 {{further|Entomophagy|Insects as food|Insects in culture}}
-Honeypot ants such as ''[[Melophorus bagoti]]'' and ''[[Camponotus]]'' spp. are [[edible insects]] and form an occasional part of the diet of various [[Indigenous Australian]]s. These people scrape the surface to locate the ants' vertical tunnels, and then dig as much as two metres deep to find the honeypots.<ref name="IO">{{cite web |title=Use of Insects by Australian Aborigines |url=http://www.insects.org/ced1/aust_abor.html |website=Insects.org |date=2011 |accessdate=21 May 2016 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120825132643/http://www.insects.org/ced1/aust_abor.html |archivedate=25 August 2012 }}</ref> [[Papunya]], in Australia's [[Northern Territory]] is named after a honey ant creation story, or [[Dreaming (spirituality)|Dreaming]], which belongs to the people there, such as the [[Warlpiri people|Warlpiri]]. The honey ants were celebrated in the [[Western Desert Art Movement]]'s  [[Honey ant dreaming|''The Honey Ant Mural'']], painted in 1971.<ref>{{cite web |title=Papunya Tula art movement of the Western Desert |url=http://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/papunya-tula-art |publisher=Australian Government |accessdate=30 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160808090004/http://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/papunya-tula-art |archive-date=8 August 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
+Honeypot ants such as ''[[Melophorus bagoti]]'' and ''[[Camponotus]]'' spp. are [[edible insects]] and form an occasional part of the diet of various [[Indigenous Australian]]s. These people scrape the surface to locate the ants' vertical tunnels, and then dig as much as two metres deep to find the honeypots.<ref name="IO">{{cite web |title=Use of Insects by Australian Aborigines |url=http://www.insects.org/ced1/aust_abor.html |website=Insects.org |date=2011 |access-date=21 May 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120825132643/http://www.insects.org/ced1/aust_abor.html |archive-date=25 August 2012 }}</ref> [[Papunya]], in Australia's [[Northern Territory]], is named after a honey ant creation story, or [[Dreaming (spirituality)|Dreaming]], which belongs to the people there, such as the [[Warlpiri people|Warlpiri]]. The honey ants were celebrated in the [[Western Desert Art Movement]]'s  [[Honey ant dreaming|''The Honey Ant Mural'']], painted in 1971.<ref>{{cite web |title=Papunya Tula art movement of the Western Desert |url=http://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/papunya-tula-art |publisher=Australian Government |access-date=30 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160808090004/http://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/papunya-tula-art |archive-date=8 August 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
-In 2011 the [[British Broadcasting Corporation|BBC]] made a film, ''Empire of the Desert Ants'', on the natural history of a honeypot ant, ''[[Myrmecocystus mimicus]]'' in the desert of Arizona. It included the first ever film of honeypot queens from different colonies collaborating to found a new colony. The ant specialist [[Bert Hölldobler]] stated that queens may co-operate because larger colonies are better able to survive by raiding neighbouring ant colonies.<ref name="BBC">{{cite web|title=Empire of the Desert Ants|url=http://naturedocumentaries.org/2281/empire-desert-ants/|publisher=[[British Broadcasting Corporation]]|accessdate=22 May 2016|date=2011}}</ref>
 ==See also==
@@ Line 47: / Line 46: @@
 ==External links==
 *{{commonscat-inline|Honeypot ants}}
+*[http://naturedocumentaries.org/2281/empire-desert-ants/ Empire of the Desert Ants at naturedocumentaries.org] Retrieved 16 July 2023
 {{Taxonbar|from=Q1627122}}
-{{DEFAULTSORT:Honeypot Ant}}
 [[Category:Ants]]
+[[Category:Edible insects]]
 [[Category:Bushfood]]
 [[Category:Australian Aboriginal bushcraft]]
-[[Category:Insects as food]]