So how do desert ants find their way home?
Their count their steps!
http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/20...nts-that-count
German scientists (Harald Wolf of the University of Ulm and his assistant Matthias Whittlinger) experiment:
3 groups of ants:
a) regular ants
b) ants with lengthened legs by attaching pig hair (ants on stilts)
c) ants with legs cut off
What happens when the ants try to find their way back home from the food source in the dessert (same distance for all groups):
c) do not make it home
b) walk too far
a) make it home
Conclusion: Ants count their steps (the ant pedometer theory)!
The cartoon video on npr science blog explains it all.