The Honeypot Ant

It’s a scene straight out of a sci-fi movie: a lair of ants with huge, swollen abdomen used as living food storage. But it is not science fiction. It’s science fact!

Meet the honeypot ant, whose belly can expand to the size of grapes as worker ants keep on feeding it “honey”. During tough times, the honeypot ant will regurgitate honey to feed its colony.

These honeypot ants are so valuable that rival ant colonies often try to kidnap them, and they’re so tasty that Australian Aboriginal people like to eat them! Yum! Learn more here.

Tags: Zoology