Scientific Essay from the year 2011 in the subject Computer Science – Internet, New Technologies, , course: Ad hoc networks, language: English, abstract: Ant algorithms and swarm intelligence systems have been offered as a novel computational approach that replaces the traditional emphasis on control, preprogramming and centralization with designs featuring autonomy, emergence and distributed functioning. These designs provide scalable, flexible and robust, able to adapt quickly changes to changing environments and to continue functioning even when individual elements fail. These properties make swarm intelligence very attractive for mobile ad hoc networks. These algorithms also provide potential advantages for conventional routing algorithms. Ant Colony Optimization is popular among other Swarm Intelligence Techniques.In this paper a detailed comparison of different Ant based algorithms is presented. The comparative results will help the researchers to understand the basic differences among various existing Ant colony based routing algorithms.