Honey-Ants-Australia003.tif


A honey ant during a buccal exchange through trophallaxis with a virgin queen from the colony. The honey ants are omnivorous ants. The storing of honeydew is indispensable for the colony's survival and its consumption represents 40% of the colony's nourishment. The honeypot ants, “repletes”, are attentively cared for by the worker ants who clean and inspect them.///Une fourmi pot de miel lors d’un échange buccal par trophallaxie avec une reine vierge de la colonie. Les fourmis à miel font partie des fourmis omnivores. Le stockage du miellat est indispensable à la survie de la colonie et sa consommation représente 40 % de l’alimentation de la colonie. Les fourmis réservoirs sont l’objet de toutes les attentions de la part des ouvrières qui les nettoient et inspectent.
©Eric Tourneret
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