***Myrmecocystus navajo (Golden Honeypot Ants) can be sent to (permits included with shipment):

Arizona, California, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Nevada, Texas, Utah***

***Read the following!!!!  Shipping takes place during the first part of the week, typically Monday, Tuesday and again on Saturday. Ants are only shipped during weather conditions that are deemed safe for them to survive, so please keep that in mind as you wait on your ants to be mailed.  Each colony must be moved to a shipping container which takes 2-3 days. Normally ants do not ship the same day they are ordered.  Contact us at tarheelants@gmail.com with any other questions regarding shipping.  PLEASE DO CHOOSE SHIPPING OPTIONS THAT ARE QUOTED MORE THAN THREE DAYS.  We Recommend: USPS - Priority Mail, or Priority Mail Express  UPS - Ground (if three days or less), Two Day Air, or Next Day Air.  ***

General Information

(care guide also inlcuded with purchase)

Common Name: Golden Honey-Pot Ants

 Scientific Name: Myrmecocystus navajo

Species Size: Small to Medium (workers small, queen and repletes medium sized)

Growth Rate: Fast

Special: Require Heating 80-83 optimal (Heat Cable, Heat Pad, Heat Lamp).  Repletes caste.

A member of the genus referred to as "honey pot" ants, Myrmecocystus navajo is one of the lighter and most colorful ants in the genus.  Their lighter, golden-yellow color makes for some stunning videos and photos. Myrmecocystus navajo forage at night and have typically have inconspicuous nest entrances.  Natural habitats occur most often in woodlands (Juniper and Oak Forests), sagebrush and grasslands in their natural range.  

Myrmecocystus navajo is one of, if not my favorite member of the genus.  The lighter colored gasters of repletes easily show the color of the liquids contained within making for a fascinating visual display (particularly when shining through them).  The color the workers and their size give them a personality much different than other members of the Myrmecocystus genus. 

Behavior and tips for care

To thrive in captivity, colonies need a heat source, and a varied diet of feeder insects such as fruit flies, dubia roaches, and mealworms.  I recommend to cut up food items so they can be dragged back to the nest by workers and fed to their larvae.  Larvae of the genus are active and consume solid foods often during feedings.  Larger, uncut food items are not as useful to the ants, especially in the founding stage. 

Constant high temperatures can slow the progression of these ants and other honey pot ant colonies.  We have found that feeding sessions are more active (successful) when temperatures are closer to room temperature.  These ants are nocturnal and are seen outside of their nest in very cool weather (one researcher documented them in the low 50s foraging at night).   We recommend a day/night schedule of temperatures ranging from 70-84 degrees Fahrenheit.  Targeting heat using heat cables and heat pads in specific areas of the formicarium to provide a gradient is recommended (no day/night schedule is needed in this kind of setup as the ants have cooler areas to retreat to).

NOTE:  I recommend using fluon with these ants especially, as they can be more difficult to spot due to their coloration.  Do not use lightweight tweezers in attempts to pick them up but rather let the stray workers climb up on them or use a cotton swab or cotton ball to pick them up.

Habitat Requirements

Habitats for these ants should include a formicarium with a well-designed hydration system.  Even very short periods without proper humidity (90-95% in at least one area of the nest recommended) the colonies health can suffer dramatically (this goes for all ant species).  Areas for repletes to hang is also a must, such as the ceilings of a Mini Hearth or Lair formicarium.  Be VERY careful handling the habitats when repletes are present.  A sharp jolt of the formicarium is enough to dislodge a replete from its hold on the ceiling or sides.  In rare cases this can cause a replete to burst and die as a result.  It is not always possible for repletes to reattach once they have fallen.  Note: Extremely tall ceilings is not recommended in their habitat.  Should the repletes fall from higher areas, repletes stand a much greater chance of bursting on the floor below.  Ceilings should have rougher textures for the repletes to more easily hold on.

Why buy from Tar Heel Ants?

-Colonies are hand picked (from dozens of our top performing colonies) to be the strongest in terms of number of brood and workers and most actively producing queens.

-Founded in the highest quality settings using our Genesis Insert System.

-Raised on organic Dandelion Seeds (by far their most preferred founding stage seed we have found to date for this species)

-Did we already say hand-picked from many queens available? This needs to be emphasized. It means you are ordering a Pogonomyrmex occidentalis queen (and young colony or brood) that is considered in excellent condition at the time of shipping.  

-Guaranteed Live Arrival!!!! (See below for more information)

-Package Options Available ---- We use the Mini Hearth and the Lair formicaria as the favorite founding setups.  See the Package Options that include a formicarium and everything else you need to get started with this species on the main Ant Colonies Page.

Warranty:  

The delivery of these ants alive is guaranteed.  Having said that, you are expected to make arrangements to be available to receive your ants if the temperature is too warm or too cold on the day of arrival.    If there is any problem with delivery you must contact us immediately by email or phone.  After the ants arrive we cannot guarantee their survival but have prepared a guide and a couple of videos to serve as tutorials to aid in getting your queen and colony setup properly  We have put significant time and energy into putting together advice on how to best raise them so please read this PDF thoroughly.  Email us at tarheelants@gmail.com with comments or questions.

If your queen does not arrive alive please be prepared to provide evidence (unfortunately due to online scams this is required for replacement) and answer a few short questions so we can try to understand what may have gone wrong during shipping.  Problems are very rare but when they do occur contact us by email or phone (919) 348-3642.

How are they shipped? 

There are several layers of protection to help protect your queens and colonies during shipping.  In all cases they are shipped inside our proprietary genesis inserts to keep them safe from drowning and protect their brood during shipping.   They come inside a puncture resistant tube as well.