{"product_id":"little-honeypot-ant","title":"Myrmecocystus testaceus (Little Honeypot Ant)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eMyrmecocystus testaceus\u003c\/em\u003e, or the Little Honeypot Ant is the only True honeypot species from Canada. This species requires hot conditions, being only known in Canada from a couple records in the Okanagan desert, and last sighted in 2012. Unfortunately, due to the habitat destruction, it is not a species we collect in the area-- our specimens are collected from Northern California, where the species is much more common.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHoneypot ants are well known for their hanging repletes-- workers with specialized social stomachs hanging off the chamber ceilings. In the wild, honeypot ants farm aphids and collect sugar secretions from galls, and nectar from the various desert flowers, and in particular fruits of the Prickly-Pear cactus. Large volumes of this liquid are stored and consumed during times where food is less abundant.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAlthough honeypot ants will hunt live insects, they are primarily scavengers, eating dried up and dead insects. Interestingly, some \u003cem\u003eMyrmecocystus\u003c\/em\u003e are associated with harvester ants, \u003cem\u003ePogonomyrmex\u003c\/em\u003e and will collect their dried bodies, presumably as a food source.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHoneypot ants must be reared in nests with overhands-- in particular, nests from Tarheel ants are specially designed for these species.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBeing a desert species, these ants should be kept at or above 30 degrees Celsius at around 60% humidity.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThank you to \u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e冯浈皓 for letting us use his amazing photos of this species!\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eCheck out his website, \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/insectaintegration.com\/\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eIISDW – Insecta Integration Specimen Database Website\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eAs well, thank you so much to Gary Alpert for his photo of the replete worker\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThank you to @benxixi as well for his photos of the captive colonies!\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eShipping Conditions\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #ff0000;\"\u003eThis species comes from more tropical areas than Canada, and are not cold-tolerant. Thus, we will not ship them in the winter\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJust a warning, we will NOT ship live ants into the US unless the receiver has a permit. If such an order is made, it will be refunded, minus a 10% processing fee and restocking fee\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis product is from Canada Ant Colony. The full catalogue, including all variants, can be found at https:\/\/canada-ant-colony.com\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5 id=\"isPasted\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFor US Ant Keepers\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWe can't ship live ants to the US, but we've partnered with \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.statesideants.com\/?ref=DOWNTHEANTHILL\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eStateside Ants\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e to help spread ant keeping. They're a highly reputable ant store and ship to all states in the lower 48. \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eYou can check them out \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.statesideants.com\/?ref=DOWNTHEANTHILL\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ehere\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e and use code DTAHAFFIL for 10% off\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Canada Ant Colony","offers":[{"title":"Queen","offer_id":42421546025182,"sku":"1546025182","price":184.99,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":false},{"title":"Queen + 1-5 workers","offer_id":42421546189022,"sku":"1546189022","price":209.99,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":false},{"title":"Queen + 5-10 workers","offer_id":42421546352862,"sku":"1546352862","price":239.99,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":false},{"title":"Queen + 10-25 workers","offer_id":42421546516702,"sku":"1546516702","price":269.99,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":false},{"title":"Queen + 25-50 workers","offer_id":42421546680542,"sku":"1546680542","price":309.99,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":false},{"title":"Queen + 50-100 workers","offer_id":42421546844382,"sku":"1546844382","price":369.99,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0081\/8928\/0333\/files\/myrmecocystus-testaceus-little-honeypot-ant-891729.jpg?v=1729700893","url":"https:\/\/canada-ant-colony.com\/pa\/products\/little-honeypot-ant","provider":"Canada Ant Colony","version":"1.0","type":"link"}