Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 Posted July 21, 2020 Posted July 21, 2020 Quote Ants have an uncannily precise ability to navigate back to their nests without wasting valuable energy overshooting their destination or wandering about haphazardly. For years, scientists wondered exactly how they could return home with such accuracy. While it was understood that ants utilized techniques like using the sun or other visual markers for navigation, what wasn’t understood was how using such wide area cues helped them to head straight home. To determine if the ants were using their own bodies and cadence as a measuring tool, scientists lured ants away from a nest with food and then split the foragers into three groups. One group was left alone, one had tiny pig bristles glued onto their legs (to create tiny ant stilts), and one group had their legs trimmed shorter. The control group went straight home without a single problem, the group with the longer “stilt” legs walked more 50 percent too far due to their now lengthier stride, and the group with the shortened legs didn’t walk far enough by nearly 50 percent to get home. The take away from the experiment is that ants have built in pedometers that help them pace off exact distances and return with uncanny precision to their nests.
Trigger Mike Posted July 21, 2020 Posted July 21, 2020 Wasn't that kinda cruel to cut their legs like that? Gee wiz.
Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 Posted July 21, 2020 Author Posted July 21, 2020 4 minutes ago, Trigger Mike said: Wasn't that kinda cruel to cut their legs like that? Gee wiz. Yeah, the screams were unbearable
Badlands Bob #61228 Posted July 21, 2020 Posted July 21, 2020 If you cut half my legs off, it would take me longer to get home too.
Cat Brules Posted July 21, 2020 Posted July 21, 2020 7 minutes ago, Badlands Bob #61228 said: If you cut half my legs off, it would take me longer to get home too. Yeah I understand THAT! It would also take me longer to catch up with the sob who cut my legs off. I would catch up with him, though! Cat Brules
Birdgun Quail, SASS #63663 Posted July 21, 2020 Posted July 21, 2020 God's creation is full of Wonderments!!
Crazy Gun Barney, SASS #2428 Posted July 21, 2020 Posted July 21, 2020 how much was the government grant that paid for this?
Forty Rod SASS 3935 Posted July 22, 2020 Posted July 22, 2020 5 hours ago, Badlands Bob #61228 said: If you cut half my legs off, it would take me longer to get home too. If you cut half my legs off I'd be 5' 10" 0n one side and 2'4" on t'other.
Injun Ryder, SASS #36201L Posted July 22, 2020 Posted July 22, 2020 43 minutes ago, Forty Rod SASS 3935 said: If you cut half my legs off I'd be 5' 10" 0n one side and 2'4" on t'other. And you would walk in circles!
Forty Rod SASS 3935 Posted July 22, 2020 Posted July 22, 2020 34 minutes ago, Injun Ryder, SASS #36201L said: And you would walk in circles! Hell, son, I been going in circles most of my life. T'ain't nothin'new.
Birdgun Quail, SASS #63663 Posted July 22, 2020 Posted July 22, 2020 We have these stone ants that just seem to stick around at the corner of my house.
Marshal Hangtree Posted July 22, 2020 Posted July 22, 2020 7 minutes ago, Birdgun Quail, SASS #63663 said: We have these stone ants that just seem to stick around at the corner of my house. How'd you get them to line up by size like that?
Birdgun Quail, SASS #63663 Posted July 22, 2020 Posted July 22, 2020 4 minutes ago, Marshal Hangtree said: How'd you get them to line up by size like that? Had a polite and cordial conversation with their leader. Some call me an Ant Whisperer.
Injun Ryder, SASS #36201L Posted July 22, 2020 Posted July 22, 2020 Got stung by a red harvester ant a few days ago. Damn insect crawled up my pants leg and stung me multiple times from the knee to the hip. Hurt like hell! Found out that they are one of the most poisonous insects around. Their venom is 20 times more powerful than a bee sting! (And yes - stung, not bit!)
Yellowhouse Sam # 25171 Posted July 22, 2020 Posted July 22, 2020 On 7/21/2020 at 4:40 PM, Crazy Gun Barney, SASS #2428 said: how much was the government grant that paid for this? Who knows but insects can be trained to do all kinds of chores for the spook crowd. In fact, the military is pretty keen on it.
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.