Post by Jenny on Aug 1, 2006 5:01:43 GMT
From a newspaper clipping 
Maybe Frank Sinatra was right, the ant can't move a rubber tree plant. But he knows exactly how many steps to get there.
It turns out ants have internal pedometers that help them figure out exactly how many steps they must take to reach their food and get back to their nest.
In a new study published in Science, researchers in Germany and Switzerland studied Saharan desert ants and found that, even in complete darkness, the insects were able to assess traveling distance correctly.
After training them to walk to a feeder, the scientists put stilts on the ant's legs to see if they would adjust to their new longer stride. Other ants had shortened legs.
"These ants walking back homeward on stilts clearly overshot, whereas ants with shortened legs undershot with regard to their normal homing distance," said Matthias Wittlinger, the study's lead author.
The length to the feeding station was 10 meters, but those on stilts walked an extra five meters past their destination. Those with shortened legs undershot their goal by 4.25 meters.
The researchers don't believe that the ants are literally counting steps in their heads.
Although the study was not able to count the number of ants' strides, they did find that ants who ran took longer steps.
"The ants walking on stilts clearly traveled for much longer distances than the normal controls, and they did so with apparent vigor."
There was no comment on whether ants might be commandeering stilts to reach distant picnics.
www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn9436
Maybe Frank Sinatra was right, the ant can't move a rubber tree plant. But he knows exactly how many steps to get there.
It turns out ants have internal pedometers that help them figure out exactly how many steps they must take to reach their food and get back to their nest.
In a new study published in Science, researchers in Germany and Switzerland studied Saharan desert ants and found that, even in complete darkness, the insects were able to assess traveling distance correctly.
After training them to walk to a feeder, the scientists put stilts on the ant's legs to see if they would adjust to their new longer stride. Other ants had shortened legs.
"These ants walking back homeward on stilts clearly overshot, whereas ants with shortened legs undershot with regard to their normal homing distance," said Matthias Wittlinger, the study's lead author.
The length to the feeding station was 10 meters, but those on stilts walked an extra five meters past their destination. Those with shortened legs undershot their goal by 4.25 meters.
The researchers don't believe that the ants are literally counting steps in their heads.
Although the study was not able to count the number of ants' strides, they did find that ants who ran took longer steps.
"The ants walking on stilts clearly traveled for much longer distances than the normal controls, and they did so with apparent vigor."
There was no comment on whether ants might be commandeering stilts to reach distant picnics.
www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn9436
nooo they didnt shorten the legs just added stilts to make them longer . . . 
I think 
I just picture some evil scientist with an ant in one hand and nail clippers in another 
. I wonder how they attached the stilts.
Due to my own spiritual experiences I my self find it hard to eat meat at times and always feel guilt after killing a fly to feed my Ants. Insects may be on another level of existence to us but they still have a right to exist in our world and remember they have no comprehension of what we are they probably don’t even know what they are themselves so even pests cannot really be blamed for its natural behaviour they just exist and follow there instincts. I have met people though that are much like this. ;D 
