Honey ants

Honey ants are exotic insects adapted to the desert climate. They are found in North America, South Africa, Australia. In total, there are 5 genera of honey ants. All of them differ in unusual appearance, remind a jewel from amber. In the abdomen of huge size accumulates a liquid carbohydrate, known as honey.

Lifestyle

You cannot meet an unusual insect on the surface of the earth. Honey ants are one of the castes of quite common-looking ants.Individuals, being a pupa, firmly attached to the walls anthillbecome immobile, eat a lot.

Nutrition

The rest of the relatives are constantly dragging them food, and the abdomen of a honey ant gradually increases in size. Eat honey dew - the juice of plants with a high content of sugar. One of the food sources is aphid. Insect leaves a substance on the leaves of plants, ants drag it to their relatives.

Interesting!

Mutual relations of aphids and ants seem amazing. Aphids can be found on any fruit tree, but some ants keep it as a “pet”. Construct a separate chamber, feed it, to obtain a sweet substance tickle it with their antennae. Food is carried into storage where the abdomen of the relative serves as a container.

North American honey ants feed on oak juice, which is obtained by “cohabitants” in case of drought.

Appearance

Honey ants

An unusual insect species adds a large belly filled with honey. Small head with antennae, three pairs of paws, sternum same as in all members of the ant family.

The second name of these original individuals is ants barrels.The walls of the abdomen are so elastic that they reach the size of a grape. Locals call them earthen grapes.

Interesting!

One more unusual fact concerns the dimensions and placement of insects. Due to the large size of the abdomen, honey ants barrels cannot move. They are in a hanging position in the upper part of the anthill. If, for some reason, the insect breaks off, the pot belly bursts.

Breeding

Mating males with females occurs during the “mating season” twice a year. The resulting seminal fluid lady enough to reproduce offspring all my life. After the appearance of the larvae, the division into castes occurs, each member of the family will play its role. All inhabitants of the anthill are relatives who have received life from one uterus.

Honey ant mission

After fertilization, the young female leaves the old house, searches for a favorable place for the construction of a new dwelling, gives rise to a new colony. The dwelling goes deep into the earth, counts several thousand individuals.

Mission and benefit

In difficult times, hungry relatives approach the barrels, tickle the abdomen with antennae, give a signal about the need to get food.Honey ants regurgitate a portion, give the opportunity to get enough of the rest. A definite cast of ants saves the whole family in difficult times.

An anthill with a number of ants barrels looks like a vineyard. Amber berries hang down, almost immobile. Locals specifically look for a family of unusual ants to get honey. The food is a delicacy, often the honey belly is eaten whole with the rest of the insect.

In nature, there are more than 12 thousand. ant species, and only 35 of them are honey.