Felix Santschi
Encyclopedia
Felix Santschi was a Swiss
entomologist.
Santschi is known for his pioneering work on the navigational abilities of ant
s. In one experiment, he investigated the way harvester ant
s used the sky to navigate. He found that as long as even a small patch of sky was visible, the ants could return directly to the nest after gathering food. However, when the sky was completely hidden, they lost their sense of direction and began moving haphazardly. Some fifty years later Karl von Frisch
found the explanation when he discovered that ants are guided by the polarization of light.
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
entomologist.
Santschi is known for his pioneering work on the navigational abilities of ant
Ant
Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than...
s. In one experiment, he investigated the way harvester ant
Harvester ant
Ants known as Harvester ants include:species*Red harvester ant *Florida harvester ant *Maricopa harvester ant , the most venomous insect in the world....
s used the sky to navigate. He found that as long as even a small patch of sky was visible, the ants could return directly to the nest after gathering food. However, when the sky was completely hidden, they lost their sense of direction and began moving haphazardly. Some fifty years later Karl von Frisch
Karl von Frisch
Karl Ritter von Frisch was an Austrian ethologist who received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1973, along with Nikolaas Tinbergen and Konrad Lorenz....
found the explanation when he discovered that ants are guided by the polarization of light.
External links
- research on carpenter antCarpenter antCarpenter ants are large ants indigenous to many parts of the world. They prefer dead, damp wood in which to build nests. They do not eat it, however, unlike termites. Sometimes carpenter ants will hollow out sections of trees. The most likely species to be infesting a house in the United States...
s. - short biographies of ant taxonomists (in Dutch)