reasons occur as to why wood ants move. Such as a change in availability of food resources, attack by the population of another colony, or a change in the state of the nest itself. During this time, workers, queens, and the brood are transferred from the original nest to the daughter nest in a bilateral direction. The goal is to move to the daughter nest, but the transporting ants may bring an individual back to the original nest. The splitting process may last from a week to over a month. Population Turnover rate of wood ant nests is very quick. Within a period of three years, Klimetzek counted 248 nests within a 1,640 hectare area under study. Furthermore, no evidence of a correlation between nest age and mortality was found. Smaller nests had lower life expectancy compared to larger nests. The size of the nests increased as the nest aged. Bee paralysis virus In 2008, the chronic bee paralysis virus was reported for the first time in this and another species of ants, Camponotus vagus. CBPV affects bees, ants, and mites. References External links Southern wood ant , southern wood ant pictures Macro photography of southern wood ant rufa Hymenoptera of Europe Insects described in 1761 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus