4 replies to this topic

[Leptomyrmx]

Today I looked up some photos of Camponotus inflatus repletes, because I wanted to draw some, and then found the attached image.

2 honeypot ants, that look to me like C. inflatus, with a queen right next to them! The image is titled "Honeypot Ant (Myrmecocystus sp), Australia" which can't be true because Myrmecocystus aren't found in Australia.

I heard that Camponotus inflatus queens have never been photgraphed and nobody knows what they look like (Australian Honeypot Nuptials?) but I guess we do now. And what nice looking queens they are!

 

Thanks for reading,

Leptomyrmx

Attached Images

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Edited by Leptomyrmx, June 27 2022 - 8:20 PM.

[bmb1bee]

Cool! Are there any other species of honeypot Camponotus, or is it just C. inflatus that produces repletes?

[Leptomyrmx]

Cool! Are there any other species of honeypot Camponotus, or is it just C. inflatus that produces repletes?

 

I think inflatus are the only ones we know of - but that doesn't mean there aren't any. I feel like there's more, since there's some pretty dry deserts out there with Camponotus that need some water.

 

EDIT: I think the closely related Camponotus pitjantjatarae is very likely to have repletes. They look similar and nothing is known about their biology.

Edited by Leptomyrmx, June 27 2022 - 6:27 PM.

[Manitobant]

My point still stands about collecting them though. They only really live way out in the outback, meaning you’d have to travel a long distance in order to find a queen.

[Leptomyrmx]

My point still stands about collecting them though. They only really live way out in the outback, meaning you’d have to travel a long distance in order to find a queen.

 

Inflatus or bagoti? I understand inflatus are illegal to keep.

The image is mainly helpful so I know what not to collect if I happen to be near where they're found.