Honey Pot Ant

honeypot_ant_sm.jpg: Honey pot ant
Range: Southwestern United States, Mexico
Habitat: Deserts, dry plains
Conservation Status: Not listed by IUCN
Scientific Name: Myrmecocystus mexicanus

These fascinating little desert ants can turn themselves into living "honey pots." The nest-mates in a colony convert the food they eat into a sugary liquid. Then they store it inside their body, in their expanding abdomen. When food is scarce, the honey pot ants regurgitate this nectar to feed their nest mates.