This paper proposes an artificial pheromone communication system inspired by social insects. The proposed model is an extension of the previously developed pheromone communication system, COS-_. The new model increases COS-Φ flexibility by adding two new features, namely, diffusion and advection . The proposed system consists of an LCD flat screen that is placed horizontally, overhead digital camera to track mobile robots, which move on the screen, and a computer, which simulates the pheromone behaviour and visualises its spatial distribution on the LCD. To investigate the feasibility of the proposed pheromone system, real microrobots, Colias , were deployed which mimicked insects’ role in tracking the pheromone sources. The results showed that, unlike the COS-Φ, the proposed system can simulate the impact of environmental characteristics, such as temperature, atmospheric pressure or wind, on the spatio-temporal distribution of the pheromone. Thus, the system allows studying behaviours of pheromone-based robotic swarms in various real-world conditions.