Absence of visual cues motivates desert ants to build their own landmarks

The desert ants Cataglyphis fortis inhabit the harsh salt pans of Tunisia. The individually foraging ants rely on path integration to navigate back to their nest.^1,2,3,4 However, as path integration accumulates errors⁵ at a rate that increases with distance traveled,^6,7 it is supplemented by visual and olfactory cues.^{8,9,10,11,12,13} We show that despite their impressive homing accuracy, ants returning from long foraging journeys face a mortality rate of up to 20%. To facilitate homing, colonies inhabiting the featureless center of the salt pan build tall nest hills as visual cues. Removing these hills triggers rebuilding, but visual artificial landmarks placed near the nest entrance are sufficient to suppress the ants' rebuilding activity. Our data suggest that the desert ant builds its own landmark on purpose in a featureless environment to increase its chances of successful homing and survival. VIDEO ABSTRACT.