Myrmecocystus mimicus
Mimic Honey Pot Ant
🐜 At a glance
Origin: South-western and central USA, northern Mexico; warm, dry woodland, scrub and grassland
Nest temperature: 28–35°C; advanced Heating System Small at 30°C, under a quarter of the nest
Outworld temperature: 18°C night, up to 28°C day; by day as close to the nest as you can manage
Humidity: Nest 50–70%; outworld about 50%, never watered
Winter: None in the first year; from year two a 2–3 month rest at about 20°C, heater off
Move to a nest: 10+ workers; 15–20 is better, a lone queen too
Size: Queen 8–9 mm; workers 3–6 mm; repletes swell into honey pots
Colony: One queen; up to about 10,000 ants
📖 About this species
A day-active honey pot ant whose repletes store nectar and whose colonies settle borders with ritual tournaments. A North American ant, not sold by Best Ants UK and possibly illegal or impossible to import to the UK.
🍯 Feeding
Carbohydrates: organic Ant Honey or Ant Nectar at every feed, twice a week; never let them run short; far better than sugar water
Proteins: Protein Jelly or Cricket Mash twice a week (keep the jelly in the fridge); scalded, halved live food for big colonies only
Feed in the outworld only and remove leftovers after 2 days. Founding queen: a tiny drop of protein jelly on tin foil once a week
Buy food only from established ant-keeping suppliers: bird seed, dried mealworms and pet-shop live food often carry blood-sucking mites
💧 Watering the nest
Distilled or purified water only, never tap, rain or mineral water, even boiled
Pipette a few drops at a time through the watering hole and stop when 1 or 2 drops appear inside; water when the meter drops below 50%
A watering test tube in the outworld for drinking; never water the outworld
🏠 Setting up the ant farm
A7 Plus ant farm with its pre-installed digital meter; A6 with Meter as the colony grows
Daylight, never direct sunlight; away from windows, radiators, vibration, speakers and kitchens. Test tube warmth: a heating cable at the cotton stopper end only
Escape risk: fast, active explorers. PTFE Fluon band around the top inner edge of the outworld lid, reapplied about every 4 weeks (every 2 weeks for 300+ ants)
💡 Good to know
No sting, but fast and feisty: never handle them
On arrival: parcel unopened for 5 hours, then 4–5 days of complete rest in its packaging
Rival colonies hold ritual tournaments; a much stronger colony may raid a weak one for its brood
⭐ Golden rules | Never break these
🚫 Never put ants in a fridge, shed or garage, and never expose them to abrupt temperature changes.
🚫 Never use gel ant farms, Ytong or concrete nests, or DIY nests.
🚫 Never use tap, rain or mineral water, even boiled.
🚫 Never move a colony into a nest too early, and never tip or shake ants out of their tube.
🚫 Never release ants into the wild. If you can no longer keep a colony, visit our ants adoption page and ask us whether we can adopt it.
🛒 Recommended for this species
📚 These care notes cover the essentials only. Please read the full ant farm setup guide and our Myrmecocystus mimicus care guide from A to Z. Questions? Message us through our contact form and we will be happy to help. 💚
Written and reviewed by the Best Ants UK team, keeping ants since 1997.