Insect navigation: Lunar lunacy tamed by an ant
Eric J. Warrant
Unlike the sun, the #moon is a notoriously fickle visual cue for #navigation. However, a nocturnal ant has now been found to use the moon for navigation during night-long foraging trips, compensating for its movement across the sky to maintain navigational accuracy.

Dispatch in #CurrentBiology

https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(26)00157-0

#science #ants #insects

RE: https://mastodon.social/@sflorg/116131363356930077

Eyes, as light-sensing organs of the #lens #eye type, have #evolved independently multiple times in the animal kingdom. But what did a representative of the early #vertebrate lineage look like? According to G. Kafetzis et al. (2026), a worm-like #ancestor possessed #medianeyes bring #homologous to the modern #pinealgland of the #brain. Published in #CurrentBiology. #evolution

© this text #StefanFWirth March 2026

#Reference
G. Kafetzis et al. (2026),
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2025.12.028

RE: https://biologists.social/@jekely/115926352021625708

#Tooluse in #bovids so far was underestimated until a recent #scientific #study highlighted Austrian #cow #Veronika and her #flexible #purposeful self-#scrarching tool handling. Indicating that further studies might show similar potentials also in other #Bovidae taxa.
The authors A. J. Osuna-Mascaró & Alice M.I. Auersperg (2026) published their findings in #CurrentBiology.
© This text #StefanFWirth Berlin 2026

Reference:

A. J. Osuna-Mascaró & Alice M.I. Auersperg (2026)
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2025.11.059