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Species & care sheets

Mexican Honeypot Ant

Myrmecocystus mexicanus · มดโถน้ำผึ้ง

DifficultyModerateHow often it is foundพบได้ไม่ยากDefencesDefensive

A desert honeypot ant from North America with special workers whose gasters swell with stored nectar. One of the most sought-after species in the international ant-keeping hobby.

มดน้ำตาลเมาทะเลทรายเม็กซิกัน จัดอยู่ในสกุลย่อย Myrmecocystus

Overview

Temperature

28-32°C (มีจุดเย็นกว่าสำหรับมดโถ)

Humidity

30-50%

Diet

Sugar · Insects

Nest type

soil/sand / Ytong / 3d-printed

Growth

Medium

Colony size

2,000-5,000 ตัว

Difficulty — ต้องการสภาพแวดล้อมที่แห้งและมีช่องว่างรังทรงสูงสำหรับมดเก็บน้ำหวาน (repletes) แขวนตัว
Colony size — รังธรรมชาติที่สมบูรณ์อาจมีประชากรได้มากกว่า 5,000 ถึง 10,000 ตัว
How often it is found — มีข้อมูลบันทึกพบค่อนข้างมาก เจอได้ไม่ยากนัก — เคยมีวางขายในร้านนักเลี้ยงมดต่างประเทศ (แต่ปัจจุบันหมด/ไม่พร้อมส่ง) · Records in Thailand 0 · Records worldwide 1,475 · Hobbyist market: Was sold, now out of stock

Derived from record counts in global databases (GBIF · AntWeb · iNaturalist), not from how common the ant is in Thailand. — ไม่สามารถประเมินได้ — ไม่มีข้อมูลพิสัยการแพร่กระจายจาก AntWiki

What it eats

SugarsProteinSeedsFungus

Care sheet in progressData confidence: สูง

Size

Body length by caste, and the ants drawn to scale on a credit card

Queen

15-17 mm

Major

9-12 mm

Worker

5-9 mm

Actual size against a credit card

Ants are drawn to scale on a standard card (85.6 × 54 mm) — hold a real card against the screen and move the slider until the card matches, and the ants are then life-size.

ANTVERSE

Scale card · 85.6 × 54 mm

Worker
~7 mm

Major
~10.5 mm

Queen
~16 mm

Calibrate card width324 px

Behaviour & care

Defences

Defensive

Bites or stings when disturbed — mind the nest when opening it.

Bites

Sprays formic acid

Colony profile

Queens

Single queen (monogyne)

Founding

Claustral

Diapause

Not required

Growth

Medium

In depth

มดคลังเสบียง (repletes) จะห้อยตัวจากเพดานรังในความมืดตลอดชีวิต เพื่อเป็นแหล่งอาหารสำรองให้กับสมาชิกตัวอื่นในยามขาดแคลน

Appearance

Myrmecocystus mexicanus ranges from pale yellow to light brownish-yellow. It is famous for its specialized worker caste known as "repletes", which gorge themselves on liquid food until their abdomens swell into translucent, amber-like globes.

Where it lives

Native to arid deserts and scrublands of the southwestern United States and Mexico, where they construct deep underground nests to escape harsh surface temperatures.

Found in

North America (Southwestern USA and Mexico)

Behaviour

They are primarily nocturnal foragers, gathering floral nectar, insect honeydew, and small arthropods at night to feed the colony and store in their repletes.

Keeping it

Requires a well-ventilated setup, ideally using sand, Ytong, or 3D-printed nests with high ceiling clearance for repletes to hang safely. Maintain temperatures between 24-28°C and moderate humidity (40-60%).

Nest type

soil/sandYtong3d-printed

Where the difficulty is

Sensitive to over-watering and excessive humidity which can cause mold. Rough handling or vibrations can cause delicate, heavy repletes to fall and rupture.

Fun fact

The abdomens of repletes can swell to the size of small grapes. Indigenous peoples of North America historically dug up these nests to eat the repletes as sweet delicacies.

Gallery

Live photographs are by iNaturalist observers under CC BY-NC — every one carries its credit.

Sources

The Thai text is written from the facts in these sources, not copied from them. · Data confidence: สูง

This page is husbandry information only — live ants aren't sold on the site, for the animals' safety in transit.