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AUTHORS		FAQ NAVIGATION
Who e-mail Handle Web site Phillip Pi y Ant The Ant Farm Randy Rencsok y Mr. Ant AntCam Andre Schmidt y Jinei Myrmecology James Trager y Dr. Ant		Prev Top Next Chapter Chapter Page Page

4.8 Do ants get lost?

ADDENDUM: I notice a wandering scout ant every once in a while. I
wonder if ants ever get lost. If an ant gets transported to
another area, does it try to travel back to their colony or can
she join another colony?

Some ants do get lost if their trail is messed up. In this case,
they may never find the way home. However, if there is another
trail from the same ant colony, then they will find their home.
--Angelo

There are various studies that some ants do use the sky to
navigate. They use visual clues from large objects nearby to find
their way to the nest (some desert species). --Mr. Ant

There are three kind of orientation:

1. optical -- characteristic objects, light (e.g., rocks, plants,
              sun, and moon)
2. positive/negative (phototaxis) -- the angle to the light
                                     (Menotaxis)
3. gravity (Geomenotaxis) -- on a slanting surface ants can move
                             in every angle to the gravity and
                             can use the gravity attraction as a
                             directional aide
4. chemical as described above

--Jinei