Fixed area meander line antennas designed on a 5 x 5 rectangular grid were optimized for efficiency and resonant frequency. The Pareto front was developed using ant colony optimization and the numerical electromagnetic code. The lowest frequency antenna fits an area of 0.11 lambda(0) x 0.05 lambda(0) with an efficiency of 88\%. (C) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE 19: 592-597, 2009.