Graphs and NetworksAnts

  • The ant colony sends out many scouts which initially travel in random directions. Once they find food, they return, leaving behind a trail of pheromone.
  • Other ants tend to follow a trail when they find one, which leads them to food. On their return journey they deposit more pheromone, thus reinforcing the trail.
  • Over time, pheromone evaporates. The longer a path is, the more time it takes ants to travel along it, and so the pheromone has more time to evaporate. Short paths, on the other hand, can get reinforced more quickly, so their strength increases faster.

Diagram coming soon…