The Benefits of Cycling Nests and Satellite Nests (Nest Waste Management) - AntsCanada Tutorial #19

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Overview of this tutorial:

Over the past two years, we have been surprised to note more and more that colonies provided with satellite nests or colonies that were relocated to a new nest after about a year or so, developed exceptionally well. This video discusses all of that and covers why we think this is. We highly feel it is a matter of nest waste management.

In the wild, subterrestrial ant nests have the benefit of decomposers to help break down decaying matter, garbage, feces, any pheromonal deposits, traces of leftover food, etc

Soil in the wild is also constantly being replenished and circulated.

In captivity, establishing a community like this and/or creating circulating nest media can be very difficult if not impossible.

So, Nest Cycling (allowing your ants to move into a new nest) on a yearly or bi-yearly basis can be beneficial for the colony. One can wash out and air out a nest that had been lived in for a good length of time.

Also, Satellite Nests provide the ants an opportunity to regulate in response to waste build up in the nest. The colony can allow certain high waste parts of the nest to "air out" by evacuating part or all of the colony to another nest location (i.e. to a satellite nest).

This tutorial was created in response to people writing to us about how they can get their colony to grow quicker despite providing warmth and endless amounts of food. It also addresses all those who have written in about their ants suddenly moving into their tubes.