SCIENCE IN THE NEWS DAILY
Ants Are First Animal Known to Navigate by Stereo Smell
from BBC News Online
Desert ants in Tunisia smell in stereo,
sensing odours from two different
directions at the same time. By sniffing
the air with each antenna, the ants form a
mental 'odour map' of their surroundings.
They then use this map to find their way
home, say scientists who report the
discovery in the journal Animal
Behaviour.
Pigeons, rats and even people may also
smell in stereo, but ants are the first
animal known to use it for navigation.
Dr Markus Knaden and colleagues Dr
Kathrin Steck and Professor Bill Hansson
of the Max-Planck Institute for Chemical
Ecology in Jena, Germany investigated how
the desert ant Cataglyphis fortis
navigates around its surroundings.
Read more...
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