Kenya battles ant smuggling as giant harvester queens fetch hundreds of dollars

Kenya is confronting an unusual new form of wildlife trafficking: the smuggling of giant African harvester ants.

Outside Nairobi, entomologist Dr Dino Martins points to one of the insects’ sprawling nests.

“These are the ants who've now become world-famous because they're being traded,” he says. “Here in East Africa they are very abundant. They're one of our most common ants.”

But what seems ordinary in the wild has become highly prized among collectors abroad. Queen ants of the species Messor cephalotes can sell for hundreds of dollars online.

“When I saw the prices people were paying for these ant queens, I was completely in shock,” Martins says, attributing their popularity to their striking red colour, gentle nature and fascinating social behaviour.

Each colony depends on a single queen, which may live for up to 60 years and produce every ant in the nest.

“Each nest here has just one queen,” he explains. “So I was really shocked when I saw thousands of queens were being collected.”

Kenyan authorities say the trade amounts to biopiracy and are stepping up efforts to stop traffickers from exploiting one of Africa’s smallest but most remarkable creatures.