Nocturnal insects have remarkable visual capacities in dim light. They can navigate using both the surrounding panorama and celestial cues. Individual foraging ants are efficient navigators, able to accurately reach a variety of goal locations. During navigation, foragers compare the current panoramic view to previously learnt views. In this natural experiment, we observed the effects of large panorama changes, the addition of a fence and the removal of several trees near the nest site, on the navigation of the nocturnal bull ant Myrmecia midas. We examined how the ants’ navigational efficiency and behaviour changed in response to changes in ~ 30% of the surrounding skyline, following them over multiple nights. Foragers were displaced locally off-route where we collected initial orientations and homing paths both before and after large panorama changes. We found that immediately after these changes, foragers were unable to initially orient correctly to the nest direction and foragers’ return paths were less straight, suggesting increased navigational uncertainty. Continued testing showed rapid recovery in both initial orientation and path straightness.

夜间昆虫在昏暗的灯光下具有非凡的视觉能力。他们可以使用周围的全景图和天体线索进行导航。个体觅食蚂蚁是高效的导航仪，能够准确地到达各种目标位置。导航期间，觅食者会将当前全景图与以前学习的视图进行比较。在这个自然实验中，我们观察到夜景斗牛蚁Myrmecia midas的航行对全景的大变化，围栏的添加以及巢穴附近几棵树木的清除的影响。。我们研究了蚂蚁经过多个晚上后，如何响应周围30％的周围天际线的变化而改变了它们的导航效率和行为。觅食者在路线外局部移动，我们在全景发生大变化之前和之后收集了初始方向和寻径。我们发现，这些变化之后，觅食者无法立即正确地朝向巢穴方向定位，并且觅食者的返回路径不太平直，这表明航行的不确定性增加了。继续进行的测试表明，初始方向和轨迹平直度均迅速恢复。