Honeypot Ants

insects · food storage · teamwork

Living Larders. Honeypot ants have special workers called repletes that eat enormous amounts of food until their abdomens swell up like balloons. These puffy ants become walking pantries for their colony.

Extreme Swelling. The process where these ants' bodies balloon out is called physogastry. Their abdomens can grow so large that the ants can barely move around the nest.

Sharing Through Mouth. When other ants in the colony get hungry, they tap the honeypot ants with their antennae. The honeypot ants then regurgitate food directly into their nestmates' mouths in a process called trophallaxis.

Several Ant Types. Honeypot ants aren't just one species. Different ant genera like Myrmecocystus and Camponotus have evolved this same clever trick independently.

Recently Discovered. Scientists first documented honeypot ants in 1881 and learned much more about them in 1908. They remain one of nature's most unusual survival strategies.