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Meet the Honeyrump Ant
We don’t know a whole lot about tiny Brachymyrmex depilis. Even
as one of our most-common ants, they have no common name
(we made Honeyrump up!). But here are four facts we know for
sure. Consider this your field guide.
1. They’re tiny (less than a 20th of an inch long).
2. They have thin skin, which means they dry out fast. Fast-drying
ants prefer to stay underground, where the weather’s always
moist. That means they like to nest under dirt, stones, and
along plant roots.
Brachymyrmex’s thin skin means it needs to hang out in moist places. - ©
Alex Wild
3. They prefer sugary foods, like root aphid’s honeydew, and
often gulp down so much of the sweet stuff that their rumps
can nearly double in size as they waddle back to their hidden
nests.
4. Because these ants live underground, they can survive aboveground
disasters like fire more readily than can other ant
species. When blazes tear across the land, these ladies sit
pretty beneath the heat and help rebuild the landscape after
the burn fizzles.
There are surely books to be written about Brachymyrmex depilis,
but not yet.
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