Few things are as entertaining as watching animals on treadmills. Although Penguins might be the cutest, these ants are pretty fun, too. Here, researchers set up a hollow styrofoam ball floating on a stream of air as a treadmill for desert ants. To keep the ants from wandering (or simply falling) off the treadmill, the scientists glued the thorax to a small pin. They then were able to precisely track the animals' movements and behavior as they navigated to their nests. Check out the video (below) to see the ants in action!
Naturalistic path integration of Cataglyphis desert ants on an air-cushioned lightweight spherical treadmill "Air-cushioned spheres are widely used as treadmills to study behavioural and neurophysiological questions in numerous species. We describe an improved spherical treadmill design that reliably registers the path and walking behaviour of an animal walking on top of the sphere. The simple and robust set-up ...
