
Current Biology, Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: 35(3), P. R110 - R124
Published: Feb. 1, 2025
Unlike any other group of animals, all ant species are social: individual ants share the food they gather with their nestmates and as a consequence must repeatedly leave nest to find then return home it. These back-and-forth foraging trips have been studied for about century much our growing understanding strategies underlying animal navigation has come from these studies. One important strategy that use keep track where on trip is 'path integration', in which continuously update 'home vector' gives estimated distance direction nest. As path integration accumulates errors, it cannot be relied bring precisely home: such precision accomplished by using views acquired before start foraging. Further learning scaffolded vectors or remembered vectors, guide route help useful experienced way. Many rely olfaction well vision guidance full details paths revealed how mix innate learnt multisensory cues. Wood ants, we focus this review, take an oscillating along pheromone trail sample odours, but acquire visual information only at peaks troughs oscillations. To provide working model neural basis multimodal navigational outline anatomy functioning major central brain areas circuits - complex, mushroom bodies lateral accessory lobes involved coordination behaviour olfactory patterns. Because brains not yet well-studied, work done notably, Drosophila, silkworm moths bees derive plausible circuitry can deliver ants' strategies.
Language: Английский