How do foraging ants find their way back to their nests ? An interesting little story about our importend ants & a beautiful picture ❤

[Queen Esther]

 How do foraging ants find their way back to their nests ?
Researchers in the United Kingdom discovered that in addition to leaving scent markers, some ants use geometry to build trails that make finding home easy.

For example, pharaoh ants “lay trails radiating out from the nest that fork at an angle of 50 to 60 degrees,” says New Scientist.
What is remarkable about this pattern ?

When an ant is returning to the nest and reaches a fork in the trail, it instinctively takes the path that deviates least, which inevitably leads home.
“The geometry of the forking paths,” says the article, “optimises the flow of ants through the network of trails, especially when ants are walking along them in two directions, and minimises the amount of energy individuals waste by going in the wrong direction.”

[Alexa]

They eat their trails and they follow the lead, nice article queen esther  

[Queen Esther]

43 minutes ago, Alexa said:

They eat their trails and they follow the lead, nice article queen esther  

Thank  you,  dear  Alexa...