Honeypot Ant

Myrmecocystus mexicanus is one of several genera of 'honeypot ants' that have evolved a unique form of food storage: certain worker ants in the colony, called 'repletes,' have soft expandable membranes between their abdominal plates and serve as living storage vessels. Other workers feed the repletes nectar and sweet plant exudates until the replete's abdomen swells to the size of a grape — sometimes 100× the worker's normal body weight. Repletes hang motionless from the ceiling of underground chambers and regurgitate stored honey on demand when other workers solicit. The colony's entire winter survival can depend on stored repletes. Several human cultures have harvested honeypot ants for thousands of years. In Australia, multiple Aboriginal language groups including Western Arrernte have a long tradition of digging up Camponotus inflatus repletes and eating the stored nectar — the practice is called *yerrampe*. In central Mexico, M. mexicanus repletes are eaten fresh and have been traded since pre-Columbian times. The ants taste like a slightly tangy honey. Modern entomotourism programs in both regions feature regulated honeypot ant tasting. The species is found in semi-arid grasslands across the southwestern US and northern Mexico.