How to Care for Myrmecocystus mexicanus | The Golden Honey Pot Ant Guide
Updated: 3 days ago
Myrmecocystus mexicanus is one of nature's most incredible ants. Some of its workers drink so much nectar that their bodies swell into shiny golden balls, then hang from the ceiling as a living pantry.
This is the golden honey pot ant, and watching its repletes fill up is something children and grown-ups never forget. This guide explains Myrmecocystus mexicanus care step by step, from the day your parcel arrives to a thriving colony.
We have kept ants since 1997, and everything here comes from our own colonies and the care rules we use every day.
👉 In a hurry? Download our free Myrmecocystus mexicanus care sheet (PDF) or open the Myrmecocystus mexicanus care sheet page for the key facts at a glance.
Myrmecocystus mexicanus at a Glance
Origin: the dry, warm south-western USA and Mexico
Keeping level: Intermediate
Queen: 15 to 18mm, yellow with a darker, bulky thorax
Workers: 6 to 10mm, yellow with black eyes; repletes swell into golden balls
Colony: one queen, up to about 10,000 ants
Nest temperature: 28 to 35°C
Nest humidity: 50 to 70%
Workers before moving into a nest: 10 minimum, 15 to 20 recommended
Winter: no rest in the first year; from the second year, a natural rest from November to the end of February
Escape risk: high, so a PTFE barrier is a must
Meet the Golden Honey Pot Ant
In the wild, Myrmecocystus mexicanus lives in dry, warm country, from open woodland and savanna to grassland. It digs its nest in the soil, with a small crater around the entrance.
Food in the desert comes and goes, so the colony stores it in living workers. The repletes are fed nectar by their sisters until they swell up, then hang quietly from the nest ceiling. In dry spells, they pass the stored food back to the colony.
The ordinary workers are fast, busy and mostly active after dark, so you will often see the most action in the evening. This is the largest honey pot ant in the USA.
Each colony has a single queen and can grow to about 10,000 ants. Growth is slow, especially at the start, so patience pays off. New queens fly out in summer and autumn, after evening rains.
When Your Ants Arrive
The most important step: leave the parcel completely unopened, exactly as it arrived, at room temperature for 5 hours. The ants must adjust to your home's temperature slowly, because abrupt temperature changes make ants seriously unwell.
After the 5 hours, check the queen is safe and sound. Then leave the colony in its original packaging, with the test tube still in its tin foil and wrapping.
Put it somewhere quiet and still, away from daily household activity. Normal daylight is fine, but never direct sunlight.
Give the colony 4 to 5 days of complete rest. The ants were fed before dispatch, so they need nothing from you. Use this time to set up and water the nest. 👉 Our step-by-step ant farm setup guide shows you exactly how.
Still workers or a motionless queen after delivery are almost always delivery stress. Look at the queen's antennae: moving antennae mean she is fine. Almost all recover within 4 to 5 days, and a big queen like this one can take a little longer.
Life in the Test Tube
Keep the colony in its test tube until it has at least 10 workers. 15 to 20 is even better. Moved earlier, the workers often abandon the queen in the bigger space, and the colony can fail. The same rule applies to a queen bought on her own.
A queen on her own still needs a little food. Once a week, give her a tiny drop of protein jelly, about half a grain of rice, on a small flat piece of tin foil inside the tube, next to the dry cotton stopper.
In our experience a fed queen raises her first workers faster, and the queen and colony do far better afterwards. Keep her tube wrapped in its foil, keep it warm and disturb her as little as possible.
Moving Into the Ant Farm
When the colony is ready, connect the test tube to the nest with the delivery tin foil still on. Leave it like that for 14 days.
Then slide the foil back about 1mm every day, until the tube is fully exposed to daylight. Bit by bit, the tube becomes the bright spot and the dark nest becomes the safe home.
If the ants haven't moved 2 days after the tube is fully exposed, wrap the foil back on, wait another fortnight and repeat the whole process. Moving in happens on the ants' own time: anywhere from a couple of days to 6 months.
Once the colony has moved, leave the old test tube connected for at least another 14 days. Ants sometimes leave a little brood behind.
The red filter and black cover stay on the nest all the time, so it is pitch dark inside. You can lift the black cover once a day for 2 to 3 minutes, ideally at night, and take the red filter off once a week for 2 to 3 minutes. Take colony photos once a month at most.
The Best Ant Farm for Myrmecocystus mexicanus
👉 Our top pick is the A7 Plus ant farm kit. Its pre-installed digital meter shows the nest temperature and humidity at a glance, which makes heating and watering far easier for a warmth-loving species like this. If you already have your ants, choose its Nest + Outworld option.
👉 As the colony grows into the thousands, the A6 ant farm kit with meter gives it more room, also with a built-in meter.
Place the ant farm in normal daylight, never direct sunlight: the sun can overheat a nest within minutes. Avoid windows, radiators and heaters, vibrating surfaces, speakers and TVs, and rooms with strong smells such as the kitchen.
Temperature and Heating
Honey pot ants come from hot, dry land, so warmth is the secret to a healthy, growing colony. Keep the nest at 28 to 35°C. A cool nest means a slow colony that barely grows.
Almost every UK home is far cooler than that. 👉 The Advanced Heating System Small 4W holds a steady warm spot with its digital thermostat. Set it to 30°C.
The heat mat goes under one quarter of the nest only, on the side opposite the watering area. The ants can then pick the spot they like best. Never heat the whole nest.
In the outworld, aim for about 18°C overnight up to 28°C by day. By day it should be as close to the nest temperature as you can manage. If the nest is heated, warm the outworld too, because a big gap confuses the ants. The Small 4W can warm a small outworld as well.
Water and Humidity
Keep the nest humidity at 50 to 70%. Use distilled or purified water only. Never use tap water, rainwater or bottled mineral water, even boiled: they cause mould and fungus, which is deadly for ants.
Water the nest with the pipette provided. Pour slowly, a few drops at a time, through the watering hole. Stop as soon as 1 or 2 drops appear inside the nest. That is how you know it is done correctly.
Water about once a week, a little more in summer and a little less in winter. A heated nest dries out faster, so check the meter often and water when the nest humidity drops below 50%.
Never water the outworld. Keep it dry, at about 50% humidity, like an average UK home. A watering test tube in the outworld gives the workers a safe drink.
Feeding Your Honey Pot Ants
Sugars matter more for honey pot ants than for almost any other ant, because the colony stores them for hard times. Feed twice a week, in small amounts, in the outworld only. Remove leftovers after 2 days to stop mould.
🍯 For energy, give our 👉 organic ant honey or 👉 Ant Nectar, which has even more carbohydrates than honey. Offer it at every feed and never let them run short. Both are far better than sugar water or home-made mixes.
🥩 For the queen and brood, give 👉 Protein Jelly or 👉 Cricket Mash. Keep protein jelly in the fridge at all times.
Live food, such as crickets or locusts, is only for big, established colonies, never small ones. Always scald it first: wearing gloves, hold it with tweezers in just-boiled water (above 90°C, no longer bubbling) for 10 to 15 seconds.
Then cut it in half only, and serve it in the outworld. As a rare treat, a rice-grain-sized piece of peeled grape or banana is fine too.
Keep Mites Out of Your Colony
Blood-sucking mites are one of the biggest dangers for any ant colony, and they are not rare. They often arrive with bird seed from local shops and off-licences, dried mealworms (useless as ant food), and live food from pet shops or online, where about half carries mites.
Buy ant food only from established, reputable ant-keeping suppliers. At Best Ants UK we clean our foods in several ways before dispatch, check every colony twice a month, and check each colony again before it leaves us.
Live food always gets the scalding step above. Now and then, look at your queen with a magnifying glass. Tiny white or reddish specks on her joints and legs, together with ants dying fast, are a warning sign of blood-sucking mites.
Stopping Escapes
Honey pot workers are fast, active and keen explorers, so escape prevention is a must. Paint a band of 👉 PTFE Fluon escape barrier around the top inner edge of the outworld lid. The ants slip off it and can't climb out.
PTFE wears off as the ants keep testing the same spots. For a small colony of up to about 100 ants, reapply it roughly every 4 weeks. For 300 to 500 ants or more, reapply it about every 2 weeks.
Never shake the bottle, because it foams. Roll it gently in your hands instead.
Winter Care
Best Ants UK never puts a queen into a winter rest in her first year. Keep the nest warm at 28 to 35°C all through her first winter.
From the second year, the colony has a natural winter rest from November to the end of February. Experienced keepers agree that this desert ant doesn't need a cold hibernation.
Simply switch the heater off and keep the colony at room temperature, around 20°C, for its rest. It slows down anyway, because its biological clock can't be tricked. Never put ants in a fridge, shed or garage, and avoid any abrupt temperature change.
Feed less in winter, but never guess. At 17 to 22°C, give about a third of the summer amount. At 22 to 26°C, give about half. In March, bring the nest back up to full warmth gradually.
Can I Release My Ants?
No. A colony raised indoors won't survive outside. If you ever can't keep your colony any more, 👉 visit our ant adoption page and let us know. We'll see whether we can take it in.
Frequently Asked Questions | FAQ
Is Myrmecocystus mexicanus good for beginners?
It is an intermediate species. The colony needs real warmth, a good supply of sugars and a PTFE escape barrier, and it grows slowly at first. For a very first colony, a beginner species such as Lasius niger or Messor barbarus is easier.
What are repletes?
Repletes are special honey pot workers. They are fed nectar by their sisters until their abdomens swell into round, golden, see-through balls. Then they hang from the nest ceiling as a living food store for the whole colony.
What temperature do honey pot ants need?
Keep the nest at 28 to 35°C. Almost every UK home is far cooler, so an Advanced Heating System set to 30°C under one quarter of the nest is a must.
What do Myrmecocystus mexicanus eat?
Plenty of organic honey or Ant Nectar for energy, plus Protein Jelly or Cricket Mash for the queen and brood. Feed twice a week, in the outworld only, and remove leftovers after 2 days.
How many workers before moving honey pot ants into a nest?
At least 10 workers, and 15 to 20 is even better. The same rule applies to a queen bought on her own: she stays in her test tube until she has raised enough workers.
Do Myrmecocystus mexicanus hibernate?
Not in the first year. From the second year they have a natural winter rest from November to the end of February. They don't need a cold hibernation: keep them at room temperature, around 20°C, and let the colony slow down on its own.
Do honey pot ants sting?
No. They have no sting, but the workers are very active and can be feisty. As with every ant, never handle them.
Start Your Own Honey Pot Ant Colony
👉 Find Myrmecocystus mexicanus queens and colonies in our shop, and watch your own golden repletes fill up with honey.
Print this guide and keep it next to your ant farm. 👉 Keep the essentials close and explore all our free ant care sheets.
