Awesome Animal Fact - Chubby Ants

Did you know honeypot ants have specialized workers that gorge themselves on nectar to the point of being like water balloons? Their abdomens get so fat that the ants can barely move.

Why would these ants voluntarily embrace a diet that seems so unhealthy? They do it for the good of the entire colony. These specialized workers fill up on nectar, then they go back to the nest to become a "living larder." You probably know that some insects, like honeybees, store huge amounts of sweet food in their nest (in combs) to be consumed later. Well, honeypot ants do it differently. Instead of storing the nectar in combs, they have a system of living storage. The stuffed ants just hang around the nest until the food in their abdomens is needed.

When the time comes to use the food, the other ants in the nest stroke a stuffed ant's antennae. This triggers the stuffed ant to barf up the nectar, which is consumed by the colony.

The photo below shows four stuffed honeypot ants clinging to the roof of the cavity, with regular sized ants below them.

Photo Credits:
- Honeypot ants - Greg Hume, modificada por Aurélio A. Heckert, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons