The bees algorithm: Modelling nature to solve complex optimisation problems

The Bees Algorithm models the foraging behaviour of honey bees in order to solve optimisation problems. The algorithm performs a kind of exploitative neighbourhood search combined with random explorative search. This paper describes the Bees Algorithm and presents two application examples: the training of neural networks to predict the energy efficiency of buildings, and the solution of the protein folding problem. The Bees Algorithm proved its effectiveness and speed, and obtained very competitive modelling accuracies compared with other state-of-the-art methods.