The Honeypot Ant

I have to say that I am fascinated by ants. They are brilliant in their own way! Some species cut up leaves, and store them in their homes. But then the leaves grow a specific type of fungus, which the ants then eat! Other ants, which live in Africa, literally build little roads to transport food. A wall of sticks and other material guide the ants to their destination. If part of the road is destroyed, the ants will repair it in minutes!! Anyways, this post is about the honeypot ants. They live in Australia, in large colonies like almost all ants. However, unlike most ants, they feed in unusual ways. Special ants are selected by the colony, and are fed enormous amounts of nectar and sometimes other essentials, like water and other insect's body fat. These ants are called repletes. Since the replete ant is consuming too much food, the excess food is stored in it's swollen abdomen. Eventually, the abdomen will become so large that the ant will not be able to move. But this is for the good of the colony - when food is scarce, the worker ants will eat the food and nutrients stored in the replete's abdomen. Aboriginal people of Australia used to eat honeypot ants like candy, and are still considered by some people to be a delicacy!