Aphid

• While most honey comes from honey bees (Apis mellifera), other insects such as stingless bees, wasps and even ants can produce honey-like products from plant nectar.
• One of these insects is the honeypot ant Camponotus inflatus, found throughout the central desert region of Australia.

Pots of gold

• Within these colonies, certain worker ants known as “repletes” serve as living food stores.
• The repletes are fed by other members of the colony, who forage for nectar and honeydew in the environment.
• The repletes cough up some honey in response, and the other workers then distribute it throughout the colony.

Honeypot ants in First Nations culture

• Danny Ulrich of the Tjupan language group, operator of Goldfields Honey Ant Tours in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, says
  For our people, honey ants are more than just a food source.
• Digging for them is a very enjoyable way of life.
• For our people, honey ants are more than just a food source.

Not your usual honey activity

• We compared this to two well-studied bee honeys with anti-microbial properties: manuka honey from New Zealand, and jarrah honey from Western Australia.
• However, honeypot ant honey retained most of its activity even after we removed all the hydrogen peroxide.
• These can be destroyed by heat, and when we heated the honeypot ant honey to 90℃ for 10 minutes it lost most of its antimicrobial activity.

Evolution of antimicrobial activity in the insect world

• Intriguingly, we found honeypot ant honey was particularly effective against some pathogens we consider to be quite “tough”.
• We suggest the evolutionary pressure imposed by these soil microorganisms has resulted in the potent, selective antimicrobial activity of honeypot ant honey.

Science catches up with Indigenous knowledge

• Due to the cultural significance of the ants, and challenges with rearing them at a commercial scale, it is not feasible to domesticate honeypot ants for honey production.
• However, honeypot ant honey may provide valuable insights for the development of useful new antimicrobial peptides.
• Kenya Fernandes conducts research on honey bees and medicinal honey supported by the NSW Government under the Bushfire Industry Recovery Package.

• CHICAGO, July 4, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The beneficial insects market is projected to reach USD 1,630 million by 2028 from USD 877 million in 2023, at a CAGR of 13.2% from 2023 to 2028 according to a report published by MarketsandMarkets™.
• The market for beneficial insects is experiencing growth due to increasing demand for chemical-free farming and organic farming which has led to a surge in beneficial insects.
• By introducing beneficial insects into the fields, farmers can effectively combat pests like aphids, caterpillars, and whiteflies.
• The study includes an in-depth competitive analysis of these key players in the beneficial insects market with their company profiles, recent developments, and key market strategies.

• Yet we often ignore the achievements of species that preceded us by billions of years.
• Bacteria, plants, fungi, insects, birds, whales and other species demonstrate language, engineering, science, medicine, agriculture and more.

Speaking nature’s language

• Now, scientists from around the world are collaborating as part of the Cetacean Translation Initiative to use powerful AI algorithms and decode the language of sperm whales.
• Plants communicate with each other using hormones such as jasmonate, which redirects resources from growth to repairing damage.
• Meanwhile, bacteria have been “talking” to each other for billions of years by exchanging chemical messages via hormone-like molecules called autoinducers.
• Studies into premature babies have shown the relationship between gut bacteria and human cells are crucial for cognitive development.

Skilled engineers

• It is a permanent building site where bacteria, insects and humans alike create cities.
• The engineering skills of honeybees are so sophisticated that a honeybee expert and a group of engineers used an algorithm inspired by honeybees to resolve internet traffic problems.
• Bacteria are skilled engineers too.
• Indeed, the entire planet was turned into a kind of bacterial internet three billion years ago.

Doctors and surgeons

• Viruses invade bacteria and hijack their cellular machinery to make copies of themselves – a process which kills the bacteria.
• Bacterial bodies produce enzymes that attack and kill virus DNA, a technique known as Crspr.
• But ants from the species Megaponera analis, found in sub-Saharan Africa, are talented surgeons.
• These ant surgeons were so effective that patients were spotted on the battlefield the next day.

Successful farmers

• In turn, ambrosia beetles transport fungus spores in a pouch-like structure in their gut to tunnels bored into trees.
• So, these tiny beings were all farmers millions of years before humans had even thought of it.
• In so doing, this newly discovered wisdom could help us resolve the environmental crisis caused by our civilisation.

• Tropical fruit exports play an important part in Vietnam's economy, with durian and banana being representative.
• In the fourth quarter of 2022, durian exports surged to $421 million, up 137% from the same period last year.
• However, banana and durian are usually planted in hot and humid climate, which are prone to pests and diseases.
• In a 4-hectare durian farm in Binh Phuoc, Vietnam, the P100 drone has been adopted to save costs by 60%.