Finding your way home, Ant style

How do we navigate from one point to another? Age old method - direction and distance. You check your direction and bearings either using landmarks or compass and estimate the distance using maps or plain simple pacing. Navigation in the jungle during my navigation exercises consist studying the compass studiously and praying that my mind did not wander off when I was studiously counting my pacing.

Now with GPS, the rules of navigation has indeed changed.

How do ants navigate from one point to another? By chemical trails, but when chemical trails are not effective, for example when you are a desert ant, you have to rely on other methods. What other methods? Simple, by bearing and pacing too.

We know that ants can use the Sun for navigation. But as we know in navigation, this is only half the story, ants still need to know that they have travelled far enough to reach home.

It turned out that desert ants, Cataglyphis sp. have very accurate pedometers. How can scientists prove that? Wittlinger et al did, by lengthening the legs of the ants using bristles glued to the ants legs. Those with longer legs went past their nests on the way back. Simple and elegant experiment.

For more read:
Wittlinger, M., Wehner,R. and Wolf, H. 2006. The Ant Odometer: Stepping on Stilts and Stumps Science 312 (5782): 1844

Ants find their way home using pedometers The Economist