---
title: "American Winter Ant"
description: "Prenolepis imparis — Insecten en spinnen. Prenolepis imparis, commonly known as the winter ant, false honey ant, or false honeypot ant, is a species of ant in the genus Prenolepis."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/nl/animal/american-winter-ant
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# American Winter Ant

> Prenolepis imparis — Insecten en spinnen. Prenolepis imparis, commonly known as the winter ant, false honey ant, or false honeypot ant, is a species of ant in the genus Prenolepis.

- Scientific name: *Prenolepis imparis*
- Category: `insects` (Insecten en spinnen)
- Habitats: unknown
- iNaturalist observations: 26799
- Wikidata: [Q14164117](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14164117)
- iNaturalist taxon: [68142](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/68142)

## Names

- en: American Winter Ant

## Countries with the most observations

US (21170), CA (1563), MX (46)

## Summary

Prenolepis imparis, commonly known as the winter ant, false honey ant, or false honeypot ant, is a species of ant in the genus Prenolepis. The species is found in North America, from Canada to Mexico, nesting deep within the ground. Unusual among ants, Prenolepis imparis prefers lower temperatures, including near freezing, and is only active outside the nest during winter and early spring. Prenolepis imparis enters a hibernation-like state called aestivation during the summer.
P. imparis secretes an opaque white liquid from its abdomen as a defense against other ants, including Linepithema humile. The defensive secretions…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prenolepis_imparis

## Photo

![American Winter Ant](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/american-winter-ant/medium.jpg)

Photo: askalotl · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/22220874

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/american-winter-ant?lang=nl` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).