Rissing found that usually the largest workers in the colony develop into repletes, and if repletes are removed from the colony other workers become repletes, demonstrating the flexibility.Since most ants live on the ground, they use the soil surface to leave pheromone trails that may be followed. The materials used for construction include soil and plant matter,[58] and ants carefully select their nest sites; Temnothorax albipennis will avoid sites with dead ants, as these may indicate the presence of pests . In hot and arid regions, day-foraging ants face death by desiccation, so the ability to find the shortest route back to the nest reduces that risk. Diurnal desert ants of the genus Cataglyphis such as the Sahara desert ant navigate by keeping track of direction as well as distance.
