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Lowth01: swollen ants?! (10. Aug 2007 23:03)

hey i was wonderin if someone could answer this question. My camponotus herculeanus colony are doin really well but every now and again the workers swell up and part of their abdomen becomes sorta see thru. Is this due to eating food? or is it jus the way they are? plus its a lil like the honeypot ant but no where near as much. Im not worried jus interested

K Kris: (10. Aug 2007 23:17)

That's perfectly normal. When they are well fed their gastri swell up a bit. They get so extended that the tergites (the hard and dark "shell"-like plates) show the soft cuticle between them.