3 replies to this topic

[Kalidas]

Just like the title says, can an outworld be too large? I know formicaria can be too large but what about ants foraging area/outworld?

[T.C.]

Depends on the colony size. But in most cases from my experience the outworld can be huge. They have unlimited foraging space in the wild. Unlikely they'd "get lost".

[KBant]

Yes. Leave the nest open in your house and your house is now the outworld.

[Serafine]

Short answer: No.

If given a large outworld the ants might not use it to it's full extend until the colony grows bigger but it doesn't really have any negative effect on them. Also unless your outworld is like literally 3 meters in diameter pretty much any species that isn't Temnothorax can easily scout out the entire area during a single night.

I've head a Camponotus colony with 4 workers find a drop of honey accidentally left 20cm away from their nest entrance and at 10cm height on the glass within a single night (because why would they eat the food placed right at their doorstep  ) and when two Lasius niger workers (colony of about 100 ants) broke out it took them less than five minutes to find the Camponotus nest that was effectively 2 meters away from their own setup.