Module 5: Growing the Kingdom
GROWING THE KINGDOM
Module 5 of 6 · Initiate Certification
Do Not Rush Her Out of the Tube
This is the most common expensive mistake in the hobby. A beautiful acrylic nest arrives, the keeper moves a queen with eight workers into it, and the colony stalls or dies.
A small colony in a big nest cannot control its own humidity and cannot defend the space. A queen with a dozen workers is better off in a tube she is outgrowing than in a nest that is too large and too dry. Bigger is not better until the colony has earned it.
When to Move
Two honest signals:
- The tube is genuinely crowded. Workers packed in, brood everywhere, no room.
- The water reservoir is running out.
Until one of those is true, leave her. When it is time, connect the tube to the new setup and let them move themselves. Forced relocations stress the colony. They will walk over on their own within days.
Nest and Outworld
A formicarium is the nest, the dark chambers where the colony lives. An outworld is the open area attached to it where they forage, drink and dump their rubbish.
- Feed in the outworld, never in the nest. Food inside the chambers rots where you cannot easily reach it.
- The nest needs appropriate humidity. Most good designs handle this with a water reservoir, so you top it up rather than misting.
- Escape prevention matters. Fluon or a mineral oil barrier around the outworld rim, refreshed regularly, and every tube connection sealed. Some species climb far better than you expect.
What Growth Looks Like
Slow, then sudden. The first year is patient work. Once a colony passes a few dozen workers the curve steepens sharply, and species like our Gold Honeypots can reach the hundreds within a year and climb into the thousands after that. Plan your next nest before you need it, but still do not move them early.