Workers are polymorphic; repletes become enormously distended when filled with liquid food.
Fine-art photographic collection
Myrmecocystus mendax
A desert colony storing liquid food inside the bodies of living workers.
About this species
Desert honeypot ant
Myrmecocystus mendaxWheeler, 1908
Information reviewed15 July 2026
Myrmecocystus mendax is a North American honeypot ant. Some workers become repletes, hanging from the ceilings of underground chambers while their gasters expand with stored sugary liquid.
Taxonomy
Animalia · Arthropoda · Insecta · Hymenoptera · Formicidae · Formicinae · Lasiini · Myrmecocystus
Source checked · checked 2026-07-15
Southwestern North AmericaBroad documented localities — not a complete range map.
Southwestern United States and northern Mexico.
Desert, semi-desert, sandy flats and arid grassland.
Forages during cooler periods, often at night.
Honeydew, nectar and arthropod food; liquid carbohydrates can be stored in repletes.
Deep soil nests contain ordinary workers, brood and specialised living storage workers.
What makes this species remarkable?
Repletes act as living storage vessels rather than a separate anatomical caste at emergence.
Stored liquid can be shared mouth-to-mouth with hungry nestmates.
Deep chambers buffer the colony from desert temperature extremes.
Sources and scientific references
More photographs
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