Meat ant within a colony is typically favoured as it improves access to forage, as workers deliver most of their food to the nest that is closest to any site they forage in. At any size, a meat ant nest always has a possibility of dying out in any year, but the site may be reoccupied by another colony. Hence, nests can be very old as suggested in one study. Some nests may never be reoccupied for unknown reasons. The regrowth of vegetation which shades the nest, soil damage or even a disease may wipe out a colony and leave the nest
Carpenter ant an individual carpenter ant to be recognized as a nestmate, it must, as an adult, go through specific interactions with older members of the nest. This process is also necessary in order for the ant to recognize and distinguish other individuals. If these interactions do not occur in the beginning of adult life, the ant will be unable to be distinguished as a nestmate and unable to distinguish nestmates. Recognition allows for the presence of kin-specific interactions, like kin altruism. Altruistic individuals increase other individuals' fitness at the expense of their own fitness. Carpenter ants perform altruistic actions toward their