Simulating the Evolution of Ant Behaviour in Evaluating Nest Sites

When an ant colony needs to find a new nest, scouts are sent out to evaluate the suitability of potential sites, particularly their size. It has been suggested that ant scouts of Leptothorax albipennis use a simple heuristic known as Buffon’s needle to evaluate nest size. They do this in two stages: first laying a pheromone trail in the nest site, then, after a return to the old nest, coming back and wandering within the site assessing frequency of intersection with the pheromone trail (“two-pass” strategy). If a colony is forced to relocate from its current nest due to destruction of that nest, the time required to find a suitable new nest may be crucial. This paper details preliminary results from a computer simulation model of evaluation of nest size. The model aims to study why a “two-pass” strategy is used by ants when a “one-pass” strategy, in which the ant simultaneously lays pheromone and assesses the frequency at which it encounters its own trail, may be more tim...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2003
• Where: ECAL
• Authors: James A. R. Marshall, Tim Kovacs, Anna R. Dornhaus, Nigel R. Franks
• Keywords: ECAL 2003, Nest, Nest Size, Pheromone Trail