Ants Use Pedometers to Find Home

Ant writes "New Scientist (a short video clip included) reports that desert ants have an internal pedometer that keeps track of how many steps they take, according to a new study. The insects seem to rely on this system to find their way back to the nest after foraging. Other insects may also possess this pedometer-like system. Some types of ants appear to use visual cues or leave scent trails to find their way home. But desert ants have a remarkable ability to retrace their steps from their nesting site even though they travel on flat terrain that is devoid of landmarks, and any odors quickly fade in the hot temperatures."

Comments

messing with the legs

[seriv]

I have to wonder with an experiment like this how the scientists went about modifying the ants. I would think that the ants would be disoriented a little by these changes, and the results might be affected in a way that would not have to do with the 'internal pedometer.' This might have been considered, but it might not have been.

Side Crawlers

[Atmchicago]

Many beach/land crabs use the same system. They also have built-in abilities to make calculations on the quickest diagonal path to their burrow - ie the pythagorean theorem. One guy did some experiments where he would do things to mess up the step count of the crabs to their burrows, and they always were displaced by the exactly difference in step count. The crabs have no idea where their burrow is or what it looks like, they just know how to walk there. It must be the same in ants.

Your logic is false

[SmallFurryCreature]

Since it is a round trip. So lets put it in human terms, say it is a 5 km walk to the shops. Are you as tired as when you arrive at the shops as you are when you return back home? Only if you spend the night at the shops and get a good nights sleep.

So it can't be tiredness, that would only work for two seperate journeys, not a round trip.

What could work is "fuel" consumption. This is probably the same both ways but again fails because the ant is on a feeding trip. He will be travelling empty on the way to the food source and carrying food on the return trip wich probably cause him to burn more fuel.

Just get out the old car anology. Your "tired" idea translates then to the heat of the engine. a trip on even terrain should see the engine heat up to the same degree but on a round trip to the shops the engine would not cool down to the same level as when you started.

The fuel consumption would also not work because on the return trip your car will be heavier.

So how do we measure distance in a car? Oh wait with a pedometer like device wich same as with the ants will be screwed up if you change the size of your tires.

Funny experiment, chopping legs of ants and giving them stilts. I bet that impresses the girls.