Camponotus inflatus
Australian honeypot ant
Ant with replete workers that store honey in expanded abdomens like living barrels.
- Habitat
- Arid and semi-arid zones of central Australia; mulga and mallee.
- Behavior
- Replete workers hang motionless from nest ceiling; food sharing by regurgitation.
- Distribution
- Central and western Australia; especially Northern Territory and Western Australia.
- Diet
- Nectar from mulga flowers, honeydew and plant exudates.
# Key Features
*Camponotus inflatus* produces Australia's famous "honeypot ants". Certain young workers are fed until their abdomens expand like translucent grapes filled with concentrated nectar. These "repletes" hang from the ceiling of underground chambers, serving as living food reserves for times of scarcity. They can survive years in this state. Australian Aboriginal peoples have harvested these ants as a sugar source for thousands of years, considering them a traditional delicacy. A colony can have hundreds of repletes collectively storing liters of honey.