Honey pot ant info

[Victorhugo]

I’m having trouble finding if these ants (depletes) can be harvested for honey as you harvest bee honey? Or is that not possible due to so few depletes? Any info would be helpful please

[Hawkeye]

I’m having trouble finding if these ants (depletes) can be harvested for honey as you harvest bee honey? Or is that not possible due to so few depletes? Any info would be helpful please

I know people like the aboriginals in Australia eat them as sweets on their travels, but it seems unlikely you can harvest honey from them. Especially since they're more than likely to contain a mixture of sugary foods like honeydew, nectar, fruits etc.

I am curious though why you would want to harvest their 'honey'? You thinking about launching a new product line?

[Victorhugo]

First, Thank you for responding Hawkeye I saw that info and watched a video of aboriginals in Australia.

Yes even tho it’s not honey but this liquid do you think it would be possible to make a collected jar of this liquid sugar? Like you would honey. I hope I find my answers or I might have to buy ants lol.

Not a product line just doing research for college about honey or things like that. I wonder if this is an insect that maybe we don’t utilize or maybe there is a reason we don’t.

[Hawkeye]

It would be far too labour intensive?

[Hawkeye]

First, Thank you for responding Hawkeye I saw that info and watched a video of aboriginals in Australia.

Yes even tho it’s not honey but this liquid do you think it would be possible to make a collected jar of this liquid sugar? Like you would honey. I hope I find my answers or I might have to buy ants lol.

Not a product line just doing research for college about honey or things like that. I wonder if this is an insect that maybe we don’t utilize or maybe there is a reason we don’t.

Bees don't store the honey in their bodies, so taking their honey doesn't harm the colony. That isn't the case for the ants. You would have to kill the repletes to get to the substance and thus damage the 'machine' which produces this substance.
The ants themselves will be tucked away deep in the nest, so extracting them would cause damage to the nest and a lot of stress for the colony. Which in turn would make them a lot less productive, not in the least because they would have to repair damages to the nest.
So all in all I'd say it is not a viable option.

[Hawkeye]

First, Thank you for responding Hawkeye I saw that info and watched a video of aboriginals in Australia.

Yes even tho it’s not honey but this liquid do you think it would be possible to make a collected jar of this liquid sugar? Like you would honey. I hope I find my answers or I might have to buy ants lol.

Not a product line just doing research for college about honey or things like that. I wonder if this is an insect that maybe we don’t utilize or maybe there is a reason we don’t.

You might want to look into aphids as they secrete honeydew, albeit in minuscule amounts...

[Victorhugo]

Thanks Hawkeye good advice I appreciate your help!

[Hawkeye]

Thanks Hawkeye good advice I appreciate your help!

Oh one more thing just popped into my mind. If you wanted to keep these ants in captivity to harvest the repletes for their honey-like substance, you would have to feed the colony honey/sugar water. The repletes would then store this, but they don't really alter the liquids, other than maybe concentrating it a bit by extracting water. If you were then to harvest these ants, you'd in effect be getting the very stuff you fed them back in lower quantities. (As they would use some as sustenance for the colony) So it wouldn't be an effective way of production.