Sydney, Feb 22 (IANS) A lost desert ant will use the distance it went on its foraging excursion to sense its way home safely, cleverly and as speedily as it can, according to new research.

The analysis, conducted by biologist Tobias Merkle of the Australian National University (ANU) and Rudiger Wehner of the University of Zurich, Switzerland, shows that desert ants are highly adaptable in finding their nests and even if no visual landmarks are available to guide them home, the ants use the maximum distance of their outbound journey to calibrate search circles.

Merkle said that the adaptive search techniques used by the ants enable them to find their nests fast enough, making them less of a target for potential predators and far less vulnerable to heat.

'The maximum distance they have ventured out is used for the calibration of their search patterns,' said Merkle.

'That is, the larger the distance has been, the wider the search loops. They remember this distance as they remember where they have found food and - if this has been a rewarding food site - return to that place during their next foraging excursion.'

Ants use a technique called path integration to get them close to their nest, and then start their systematic search for the nest.

'Our research shows that - if they have ventured out far from the nest - they use larger loops from the beginning rather than search one small area with high intensity,' said Merkle.

'The latter they do after very short foraging excursions when they are sure that they are close to the nest entrance,' Merkle added, according to an ANU release.

While a similar behaviour has been documented in desert isopods and cockroaches, this study of desert ants finally identifies the key factor that calibrates the search patterns.

These findings were published in the latest issue of Behavioral Ecology.