Myrmecocystus kennedyi

Honeypots have a reputation for being expert-only, but Myrmecocystus kennedyi is one of the gentler ways in: a Californian desert species rated for keepers with a colony or two already behind them. The signature feature is the repletes, workers that swell with stored liquid food and feed the colony through lean periods, which never stops being a talking point. It is night-active and founds claustrally, with the queen raising her first workers sealed away on her own reserves. Get the warmth and humidity right and it rewards you with the honeypot habit at an Intermediate level of fuss.

A nectar feeder whose foragers collect sugary liquid and hand it to repletes that hold the colony’s reserves. The diet centres on sugar water and nectar, with insect protein supplied to the brood to keep larvae developing.

★★★ readily · ★★ moderately · ★ occasionally · ✗ not eaten

Found the queen in a test tube and rehouse the colony once nanitics are out and walking the arena. This desert honeypot ant suits a fairly dry acrylic or ytong nest with a warm arena, leaving headroom inside the chamber for repletes to hang. Keep nest and arena distinct so the colony can read the moisture and heat gradient it expects. A fluon (PTFE) rim, or talc and water, keeps foragers contained. ANTonTOP formicaria and starter kits give you the dry nest, warm arena and barrier base to build from.

Keep the nest at 20-26 °C and run the arena warmer at 22-32 °C. Hold nest humidity at 55-70% and the arena drier at 40-60%. Warm one end of the arena so the colony can choose its place along the gradient. Hibernation is not required, so keep them active and feeding through the year.

This honeypot grows at a moderate pace and can reach 1,000-5,000 workers, repletes included. As a guide, brood develops from egg to worker in about 6 weeks. The colony comes as a queen with workers and brood, so you begin with a settled founding group rather than a lone queen.

• Honeypot ants devote part of the worker force to becoming repletes, living vessels that store food for the whole colony.
• A gorged replete swells so much it can barely move, spending its life hanging from the nest ceiling as a food store.
• Myrmecocystus forages mostly when the desert is cool, avoiding the worst of the daytime heat.
• The genus is found only in the dry country of western North America, from the United States into Mexico.

Is Myrmecocystus kennedyi good for beginners?

It is rated Intermediate, so it is better as a second or third colony than a first.

Does Myrmecocystus kennedyi need a winter rest?

No, hibernation is not required; keep it active and feeding year-round.

Does this honeypot ant sting or bite?

No, it has only a mild bite and no sting.

How big does a Myrmecocystus kennedyi colony get?

1000-5000 workers, including repletes.

How large is the queen?

The queen is 11 mm; workers are 5-9 mm.

How fast does it grow?

At a moderate pace, with brood taking about 6 weeks from egg to worker.

What does it eat?

Mainly sugar water and nectar for the repletes, plus insects such as crickets; seeds are not eaten.

Will it arrive alive?

Yes, it ships with a heat or cool pack, within 24 h, with tracking for live arrival.

Escape prevention. Coat the inner rim of every open arena with fluon (PTFE), or use talc-and-water or an oil barrier as a backup, and keep a tight, fine-mesh lid on top. Check the barrier regularly, since dust, condensation and feeding debris break a fluon line over time. Keep tubing connectors tight and seal any gaps in the nest.

Keeping reminders. Always offer fresh water and never let the nest dry out completely. Give carbohydrates continuously and protein a few times a week, and remove uneaten insect prey within 24 hours before it moulds. Keep the formicarium out of direct sunlight and away from constant vibration, which stresses a young colony. A water-filled test tube plugged with cotton makes an ideal spare incubator whenever you need one.

Before you buy – do not rehouse too early. Have a test-tube setup or a small formicarium with an outworld and a working barrier ready before your colony arrives. A founding colony grows slowly at first, which is normal. Moving a small colony into a large nest too soon invites mould, mites and stress, and the workers die off one by one. Keep the colony in its open test tube on the arena, plug the nest entrance with cotton, and open up the next chambers only once the colony fills roughly 10-15% of the space.

What we ship. Every colony ships with a live-arrival guarantee, backed by our 24h unboxing-video guarantee: if the queen does not arrive alive, we reship free. Parcels travel with DHL, InPost (PL) or EMS, with a heat or cold pack to suit the season, packed discreetly and securely. We ship across the EU and worldwide, with free shipping over the Europe threshold.