Modelling ant brood tending behavior with cellular automata

Abstract

The brood sorting behavior of ants like Leptothorax unifasciatus leads to patterns, where brood items are sorted in concentric circles around the nest center. The underlying mechanisms are not fully understood so far and brood tending simulations can help to explain the occurrence of these patterns. We reexamine an existing cellular automata based model for ant brood tending. This model is then modified and extended by including a carbon dioxide distribution in the nest, that influences the ants movement behavior. Furthermore, the ants can deliver food to the brood in our model. Results of simulation runs are presented that can help to explain brood patterns that have been observed in natural ant colonies. © Springer-Ver lag Berlin Heidelberg 2005.