Orientation and navigation during adult transport between nests in the antCataglypis iberica

Cataglyphis iberica is a polydomous ant species in which adult transports b etween nests are frequently observed. When pairs of workers were captured a nd released at the same location, the transporters (Ts) fled directly towar ds their destination nest and reached it in most of the cases. The transpor tees (Te), on the other hand, fled in the opposite direction and only a thi rd of them eventually reached their nest of departure. Additional experimen ts suggest that this result may be explained by the fact that the Ts ants h ave a memory of the compass direction of the nest they are heading to and t hat they adjust their course by using a sequence of memorised landmarks. As regards to the Te, the reversal of their direction of transport seems to b e based essentially on celestial cues.