Inside nest

Ants’ nests are complex structures. While the exceptional navigation skills of ants have been (and still are) extensively studied, much less is known about the navigation inside the dark maze of their nests.

Combining individual tracking, chemical analysis, and machine learning we study how ants identify and maintain their preferred nest chambers. We find that chemical blends found on nest surfaces act as ‘road-signs’ that guide the ants’ movements within the dark nest. This stabilizes the ants’ spatial organization and facilitates colony coordination.

Using our dynamic nest-like setup, we create conflicting navigational cues and follow individual ants performing navigational tasks to unravel their intra-nest navigation strategy.

The ant nest is a pitch dark convoluted labyrinth. How do ants find their way around? We investigated this question in artificial lab nests by following ants returning brood items to the brood chamber under IR illumination. This video illustrates how, to decide, which turn she should take an ant uses her memory of the nest structure but later verifies her decision by relying on the scent marks adhered to her trail of choice.

Recruitment using unreliable interaction in the desert ant Cataglyphis niger. The ants employ early negative feedback on the group level to achieve reliable recruitment despite their low quality messaging abilities of these species.

Inside nest

Further Reading