Aboriginal Art Symbols - Honey Ant
The Aboriginal art symbol for a honey ant is a simplified drawing of the insect itself, emphasizing its bloated abdomen filled with honey.
The Aboriginal art symbol for a honey ant is a simplified drawing of the insect itself, emphasizing its bloated abdomen filled with honey.
-
Honey ants are one of the most popular treats on the bush tucker menu.
-
Aboriginal people usually hunt for honey ants by looking for signs of their activity under trees or bushes that would indicate a nearby nest. Then they would carefully dig down through the ant holes until they unearthed the chambers that contained the honey ants.
Honey Ants in the Nest
Photo © Greg Hume
Honey ants are overfed by other ants in the nest to the point where their abdomens swell with giant balls of honey up to 1 centimeter in diameter.
-
They then become living honey pots that hang from the ceiling of the nest so that the other ants may draw nourishment from them when food is scarce.
-
They usually die after their stored honey is consumed as their bodies cannot retract to their normal size.
