An Experiment Showing That Desert Ants Count Their Steps

http://vimeo.com/21497515

“Ants That Count!” is an animation by Odd Todd and Robert Krulwich (of Radiolab) that describes an ingenious experiment that strongly suggests that desert ants have the ability to count their steps. It is a companion to Krulwich’s post about counting ants on his NPR science blog, Krulwich Wonders.

Desert ants have a nifty way of finding their way back home after a foray out of the nest to find food — they count their steps. To prove it, some scientists devised a creative experiment that showed just how the little guys do it.

See Also:
– Robert Krulwich Takes a Look at the Billion Bug Highway Above Us