ants

I was listening to a podcast called "The Naked Scientist," while I was driving this weekend. It is a radio talk show where various scientists answer people's random scientific questions. Sort of like the book, "Why Do Men Have Nipples?," if you've ever heard of that one. Which is very good, by the way.
Any hoo... the point is that one guy asked can wasps/bees find their way back to their hives if they are taken far away from them. The question was posed I think because these animals fly quite a ways and still seem to find their way back to the nest. The answer had something to do with being able to see UV light and the insect being able to gauge how far and in what direction it has traveled by the sun. The more interest part was when the doctor mentioned that experiments have been done with ants and how they find their way home after foraging for food, etc.

It is not done by sight or smell, but rather by counting the number of steps they take. How do
they know this, you ask? Well ... you glue pig hairs to the bottom of ant's feet and thus by making their legs longer they overshoot their home when returning from being away. And if you cut their legs and make them shorter - they stop short of home.

http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2006/07/03/ants_use_legs_as_pedometer_to_find_their_way_home/

Who thinks of this stuff - gluing pig hairs to ant feet? Yet it worked AND it answered their question!