At a Glance

• Difficulty: Intermediate
• Founding: Fully claustral
• Diet: Sugars & nectar + insect protein
• Temperature: ~80–86°F warm gradient
• Look: Black queen with a bright red head; large workers
• Notable: Among the largest US honeypots — and does not sting
• Growth: Fast for a honeypot

Founding the Colony

Fully claustral — the queen raises her first workers on her own reserves with no feeding required. Keep her dark and undisturbed in a test tube with a water reservoir until nanitics appear.

Feeding

Keep sugars and nectar available at all times to fuel the large repletes this species is known for, and offer insect protein regularly for the brood.

Heating & Setup

Warm and dry, around 80–86°F across a gradient. A grassland species, placodops does well with a vertical nest surface so its sizable repletes have somewhere to hang.

Growth & What to Expect

Fast-growing for a honeypot, so you'll see visible progress sooner than with most of the genus. Among the largest honeypots in the United States, with striking coloration — and because they don't sting, they're a great choice for families.

Ready to start a colony?

We raise and ship Cherry-Red Honeypot queens with a Live Arrival Guarantee.