Camponotus inflatus

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Camponotus inflatus
Camponotus inflatus casent0172172 profile 1.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Formicinae
Genus: Camponotus
Subgenus: Myrmophyma
Species:
C. inflatus
Binomial name
Camponotus inflatus
Lubbock, 1880 [1]
Synonyms
  • Camponotus aurofasciatusWheeler, 1915 [1]

Camponotus inflatus, also called the Australian honey ant and black honey ant, is a species of carpenter ant native to Australia. Its workers can be used as repletes like honeypot ants, and Aboriginal Australians traditionally eat the repletes as food. They have many names in the Australian Aboriginal languages, including "Wuukurta" and "Yarumpa", and they are considered a local delicacy. [2] [3]

Contents

Description

C. inflatus is part of the genus Camponotus , a diverse genus distributed globally containing over 1,500 species commonly called carpenter ants or sugar ants. [4] [5] The species itself is part of the subgenus Myrmophyma , the bladder-head carpenter ants. [6] The worker ants range from 5 to 8 millimeters, but repletes can swell up to 17mm. The size of the queen and male are unpublished, but their physical characteristics are described by Lubbock (1896). They are black with paler legs and antennae. Their nest entrances have no surrounding mound and are 0.25 inches (0.64 cm) wide and 1 inch (2.5 cm) deep. The nests consist of a central shaft measuring 5–6 ft (1.5–1.8 m) and many chambers branching out. Most repletes are gathered in the bottom chamber, which is often the largest. The nests are located in a variety of sandy biomes. [3] [2] The repletes form half of the entire colony population. [7]

Distribution

A mulga tree, the ant's preferred food source and nest site Mulga Plains.jpg
A mulga tree, the ant's preferred food source and nest site

C. inflatus is found in all seven states of mainland Australia, however most common in the deserts of central Australia. [8] They typically nest at the base of mulga trees. [9]

Honey

A series of C. inflatus specimens including larvae, normal workers, and repletes Yarumpa.jpg
A series of C. inflatus specimens including larvae, normal workers, and repletes

C. inflatus is part of a group of specialized ant species known as honeypot ants. In the nests, specialized worker ants called repletes store large amounts of food in their abdomens, and function as living food storage for the colony. The repletes can perform trophallaxis and regurgitate their food when needed. They are immobile, must be tended to by the other workers, and are found mostly in the deeper chambers of their nest. C. inflatus usually collects nectar from aphids on mulga trees but have also been observed feeding in nectaries on corkwood and fuchsia flowers. The species has been the target of many recent studies regarding ant honey, which the repletes store in their abdomens. Dong et al. 2023 found that ant honey possesses antibiotic and antifungal properties and that the ants' gut microbiota are dominated by Blochmannia bacteria, like most other Camponotus , and Neocelosporium fungi. Specifically, the honey has strong activity against Staphylococcus aureus bacteria and Cryptococcus and Aspergillus fungi, however, the mechanisms and chemical properties of the ant honey is significantly different from honeybee honey from jarrah and manuka. [9] [10] [11] It is less viscous and less sweet than honeybee honey, but contains large amounts of antioxidants. [7]

Traditional use

Aboriginal Australians have been harvesting these ants' honey for thousands of years to treat minor ailments like sore throats or infections. [12] Called "Yarumpa" by the Arrernte people, many tribes of the Aboriginal Australians harvest the repletes in large amounts, often digging large chunks out of the sand to locate the nests. [13] They are valued as a rare source of sugar during the dry months. [14] Traditionally, only the women would harvest these ants while the men would go out and hunt. This species has heavily influenced the Aboriginal Australians' culture, and many of their traditions revolve around this ant. [15]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Honeypot ant</span> Ants that store food in living workers

Honeypot ants, also called honey ants, are ants which have specialized workers that consume large amounts of food to the point that their abdomens swell enormously. Other ants then extract nourishment from them, through the process of trophallaxis. They function as living larders. Honeypot ants belong to any of several genera, including Myrmecocystus and Camponotus. They were first documented in 1881 by Henry C. McCook, and described further in 1908 by William Morton Wheeler.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carpenter ant</span> Genus of ants (Camponotus spp.)

Carpenter ants are large ants indigenous to many forested parts of the world.

<i>Camponotus mina</i> Species of ant

Camponotus mina is a species of carpenter ant native to large parts of northern Mexico, California, Arizona, Texas, and New Mexico, and possibly Wyoming, South Dakota, and Minnesota.

<i>Camponotus vicinus</i> Species of ant

Camponotus vicinus is a species of carpenter ant widespread throughout western North America; it is found from Alaska, south to Mexico, and east to Texas and Manitoba. Unlike its wood-nesting relatives, C. vicinus is typically found nesting in the soil under stones and other objects.

<i>Camponotus ocreatus</i> Species of ant

Camponotus ocreatus is a species of carpenter ant native to northern Mexico and the southwestern United States.

<i>Camponotus decipiens</i> Species of ant

Camponotus decipiens is a species of carpenter ant native to the eastern United States, North Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, Texas, Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, San Luis Potosi, and possibly Utah, Arizona, Sonora, and California. The specific epithet of the scientific name, decipiens, comes from Latin "dēcipiens", meaning "deceiving, cheating, or trapping".

<i>Camponotus clarithorax</i> Species of ant

Camponotus clarithorax is a species of carpenter ant of the subgenus Camponotus native to California, Oregon, the Baja California Peninsula, and possibly the eastern United States.

<i>Myrmecocystus yuma</i> Species of ant

Myrmecocystus yuma is a species of honeypot ant native to the southwestern United States and a small part of Northern Mexico. This species, like most in the genus Myrmecocystus, create worker repletes.

<i>Camponotus yogi</i> Species of ant

Camponotus yogi is a species of carpenter ant native to California and Baja California.

<i>Camponotus obscuripes</i> Species of ant

Camponotus obscuripes is a species of carpenter ant native to Japan, Sakhalin, the Kuril Islands, Jeju Island, and possibly other parts of East Asia and Russia.

<i>Camponotus bakeri</i> Species of ant

Camponotus bakeri is a species of carpenter ant native to California and Arizona.

<i>Camponotus maccooki</i> Species of ant

Camponotus maccooki is a species of carpenter ant native to the western United States, British Columbia, Baja California, and possibly Colorado, Oklahoma, and Texas.

<i>Camponotus fumidus</i> Species of ant

Camponotus fumidus is a species of carpenter ant native to Mexico, Arizona, Venezuela, and possibly Texas, New Mexico, the Bahamas, Jamaica, Hispaniola, and Chile.

<i>Camponotus pudorosus</i> Species of ant

Camponotus pudorosus is a species of carpenter ant native to Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Mexico, and Guatemala. Originally described in 1925 by Carlo Emery and synonymized by W. W. Kempf in 1972, the species was revived in 2006 from the Camponotus festinatus complex by Roy Snelling.

<i>Camponotus trepidulus</i> Species of ant

Camponotus trepidulus is a species of carpenter ant native to Arizona, New Mexico, Baja California, Nayarit, Aguascalientes, and the State of Mexico.

<i>Camponotus cuauhtemoc</i> Species of ant

Camponotus cuauhtemoc is a species of carpenter ant native to Texas and Chihuahua.

<i>Myrmentoma</i> Subgenus of insects

Myrmentoma, the cleft-lip carpenter ants, is a subgenus of Camponotus, the carpenter ants. Its Nearctic species nest in galls, branches and stems of plants, under tree bark, in wood and buildings, or soil. Colonies are generally small with a few dozen or a few hundred workers.

<i>Camponotus johnsoni</i> Species of ant

Camponotus johnsoni is a species of carpenter ant native to California and Baja California.

<i>Myrmodirhachis</i> Subgenus of insects

Myrmodirhachis, the stickle-back carpenter ants, is a subgenus of Camponotus, the carpenter ants. All known species are endemic to Central and South America.

<i>Camponotus heathi</i> Species of ant

Camponotus heathi is a species of carpenter ant native to Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, French Guiana, and Colombia. C. heathi is the only described species in the subgenus Myrmodirhachis, although another undescribed species Camponotus JTL-055 shares similar traits.

References

  1. 1 2 Bolton, Barry. "Camponotus inflatus Roger, 1863 valid". AntCat. antcat.org. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
  2. 1 2 Wheeler, William M. (9 May 1908). "Honey ants, with a revision of the American Myrmecocysti". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 24: 389–390. Retrieved 21 December 2024.
  3. 1 2 Shattuck, Steven O. "Camponotus inflatus". AntWiki. antwiki.org. Retrieved 21 December 2024.
  4. ↑ Cranshaw, Whitney; Richard Redak (2013). Bugs Rule!: An Introduction to the World of Insects. Princeton Univ. Press. p. 329. ISBN   978-1-4008-4892-8.
  5. ↑ Bolton, Barry. "Camponotus Mayr, 1861". AntCat. antcat.org. Retrieved 21 December 2024.
  6. ↑ Shattuck, Steven O. "Myrmophyma". AntWiki. antwiki.org. Retrieved 21 December 2024.
  7. 1 2 Pilcher, Helen. "What is a honeypot ant?". Science Focus. BBC. BBC. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
  8. ↑ Economo, Evan; Guénard, Benoit. "antmaps.org Camponotus inflatus". antmaps.org. Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
  9. 1 2 Dong, Andrew Z.; et al. (26 July 2023). "Unique antimicrobial activity in honey from the Australian honeypot ant (Camponotus inflatus)". PeerJ. 11: e15645. doi: 10.7717/peerj.15645 . PMC   10386826 . PMID   37520253.
  10. ↑ Lu, Donna (26 July 2023). "Honey produced by Australian ant has highly effective antibacterial properties, researchers say". The Guardian. The Guardian. Retrieved 21 December 2024.
  11. ↑ Anderson, Natali (26 July 2023). "Honey from Australian Honeypot Ants Has Unique Antimicrobial Properties". SciNews. SciNews. SciNews. Retrieved 21 December 2024.
  12. ↑ Leach, Noa. "Bizarre Australian ant honey, used in Indigenous medicine, inspires powerful new antibiotics". Science Focus. BBC. BBC. Retrieved 21 December 2024.
  13. ↑ Croll, Robert H. (1937). Wide Horizons: Wanderings in Central Australia. Project Gutenberg Australia. p. 1. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
  14. ↑ Attenborough, David (5 December 2012). "David Attenborough Eats a Honeypot Ant - Attenborough: Trials of Life - BBC Earth". YouTube. BBC Earth. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
  15. ↑ Islam, Md Khairul; Lawag, Ivan Lozada; Sostaric, Tomislav; Ulrich, Edie; Ulrich, Danny; Dewar, Terrence; Lim, Lee Yong; Locher, Cornelia (27 March 2022). "Australian Honeypot Ant (Camponotus inflatus) Honey-A Comprehensive Analysis of the Physiochemical Characteristics, Bioactivity, and HPTLC Profile of a Traditional Indigenous Australian Food". Molecules. 27 (7): 2. doi: 10.3390/molecules27072154 . PMID   35408553.
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