To answer this question, you first need to understand how an ant generally finds its way home? To do this, the insect uses several navigation methods at once. 
The first and most common are pheromones. They stand out on the abdomen of the ant and, as they move, form an odorous path for it. This is how he will return home. For some species, the pheromone path is the only way to return to the family. 
It's too bad, I'm lost...
The second method is to remember the shape of the crowns. But in order for this search method to work, a bunch of conditions need to match. The ant should not be blind and should be in its own territory - not very far from the anthill. And the road should already be familiar to the insect. 
One of the difficulties in the quest to “get home” for an ant is that if it gets into the territory of other ants, they will destroy it together.
The third way is to follow the sun. Desert ants, thanks to the position of the sun's rays, are able to accurately find their home. Some can even be led astray by using sunbeams. But this technique is not suitable for all types.
And the last method is the banal counting of steps. Ants simply count how far it takes to get to a certain place and remember it. 
Queues in supermarkets before the New Year holidays:
But each of the listed methods turns out to be useless if the ant is taken too far from the house. How far this is depends directly on the species. There are those who prefer not to go further than 40 meters from the nest, and the farthest journey from home for ants is up to 200 meters. 
- Guys, I found a nut! - It would be better if you found your way home.
And for absolutely all species, a distance of a kilometer from home almost guarantees that the insect will never return to its native land. And if he didn’t leave on his own six, and someone moved him, that’s all, good for nothing. Finding itself in an unfamiliar place, the insect panics and begins to look for its way home, forgetting to feed. This leads to exhaustion and death within a week. If the ant was not alone on this terrible journey, the group will be able to survive longer - up to about two months. However, after this time, the outcome will remain the same - everyone will die, panicking.
What is the moral? Don't take ants too far from their home!
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