Myrmecocystus navajo

Navajo Honeypot Ant

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Photo: Jake Nitta, via iNaturalist, licensed under CC BY 4.0.

🐜 At a glance

Origin: South-western USA and northern Mexico; desert scrub, juniper and pinyon woodland
Nest temperature: Warm spot 31–33°C; max 35°C; the rest of the nest 24–26°C. Heater at 32°C on a third of the nest at most
Outworld temperature: 22–28°C; room at least 20–22°C, or the heat mat struggles
Humidity: Nest 50–70%; outworld about 50%, never watered
Winter: No rest in year one; from year two: Nov–end Feb at room temperature, heater off
Move to a nest: 10+ workers; 15–20 is better
Size: Queen 8–9 mm; workers 3–4 mm, yellow to reddish yellow
Colony: One queen only; more than 1,000 ants when mature

A small golden-yellow night-foraging honeypot ant from the dry south-western USA. Some workers swell into living nectar stores called repletes.

Proteins: Protein Jelly (keep in the fridge) or Cricket Mash
Carbohydrates: organic Ant Honey or Ant Nectar, far better than sugar water or home-made mixes, offered at every feed: sugars are vital for the repletes
Twice a week, small amounts, outworld only; remove leftovers after 2 days. Live food only for established colonies: scalded, cut in half, never for small colonies.

Distilled or purified water only. Never tap, rain or bottled mineral water, even boiled (mould and fungus).
Pipette a few drops through the watering hole; stop when 1–2 drops appear inside. About once a week, or when the meter drops below 50%.
Never water the outworld; keep it at about 50% humidity. A watering test tube in the outworld gives a safe drink.

A7 Plus ant farm kit (built-in digital meter); A6 with Meter once the colony is big
Advanced Heating System Small 4W set to 32°C, probe inside or against the heated chamber; heat a third of the nest at most, along one side opposite the watering area (vertical nest: warm zone at the top)
Daylight, never direct sunlight; away from windows, radiators, vibrations, speakers and kitchens
Escape risk: high. PTFE Fluon band on the top inner edge of the outworld lid, reapplied every 2–4 weeks

North American ant: not sold by Best Ants UK, may be illegal or impossible to import to the UK, and we don't encourage importing ants
Mostly active at night; slow growth at first, repletes appear once the colony is established
Tiny, fast workers: high escape risk. No sting. Never release: not a UK ant. Can't keep it? See our ant adoption page

🚫 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.

📚 These care notes cover the essentials only. Please read the full ant farm setup guide and our Myrmecocystus navajo 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.