Desert long-legged ant: It’s the brain has identified the visual and olfactory signs of the navigation system.

As we all know, after getting lost in the desert, it will stop turning in circles. Scientists can not help but ask: In the absence of any signs of navigation, the desert ants how to find the direction of home? A new study shows that the desert ants can smell and visual cues of local input navigation system, in order to find their way home.

Prior to this, scientists have always thought that living in Tunisia, on the ground barren salt desert ants Cataglyphis fortis (long-legged desert ants) is a simple to navigate through the vision of insects. However, the German Chemical Ecology Research Center Kathrin Knaden, Bill Hansson, and Max Planck by gas chromatography (gas chromatography, referred to as “GC”, a gas as the mobile phase chromatographic analysis.) Confirmed that the desert micro-habitat land (Microhabitats) exists in the unique smell of features to help ants return to the cave.

The researchers identify several of these characteristics in the smell, and training for land-based life experience of the ants to identify those smells – the smell can guide them to find the hidden nest entrance. Ants were able to smell the cave entrance with a link, and this smell and other odors to distinguish. They can even smell from the four kinds of mixed distinguish that unique odor. Compared with several mixed smell, the smell seemed to be more conducive to a single ants find the way home.

Pigeons are the use of the environment are usually in some sort of smell as their own navigation signs, and most ants through pheromone secreted themselves for their own navigation. However, for Cataglyphis fortis, they often go to feed up to 100 meters away, where the heat and the ever-changing food, usually so that the smell of their own weakened and can not be effective. This may be why they have to rely on the fixed access in caves near the smell of reasons.

“We are surprised to find that ants can not only based on visual landmarks, but also the sense of smell to gather information for their own navigation.” Knaden said he hoped that in future studies able to combine visual and olfactory information to do further study.