What do honey ants eat?

During rainy seasons, honey ants primarily eat the sugary nectar from desert flowers and small insects. They also store this food source to be eaten during the dry seasons.

The repletes, which are the largest ants in the colony, are fed so much during the rainy season that their abdomens swell up so large that they are unable to leave the nest. They store nectar from flowers as well as liquids, body fat and water from insect prey. The food that is stored in the repletes' abdomens feeds the whole colony during the dry season when food is not as plentiful.