![]() ![]() "We found that rock ants show a striking, regular meandering pattern when exploring the area around their nests." ![]() "Previously, researchers in the field assumed that ants move in a pure random walk when searching for targets of which they don't know their location," said Stefan Popp, lead author of the paper and a graduate student in UArizona Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. The ants follow a systematic meandering pattern combined with some random movement – a method with the potential to optimize exploration in their natural environment. In a recent paper published in the journal iScience, UArizona researchers found that when a colony of rock ants is placed in an unfamiliar environment in a lab, the ants wander in a way that's not as random as previously thought. According to a study led by researchers at the University of Arizona, some ants go about their search for food and shelter in a similar manner. At times, you'll stray from this orderly process, such as when you see a vibrant "for sale" sign from across the store or realize that you forgot something. When strolling through an unfamiliar grocery store, you may find yourself methodically walking down each aisle to ensure you find everything you need without crossing the same path twice. Rock ants live in small colonies and often build their nests inside rock crevices. ![]() ![]() The rock ants studied by the researchers belong to the genus Temnothorax (pictured here is a closely related species). ![]()
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