For most people, ants are unwelcome guests at a picnic, but international demand for the insects is driving a new black market in East Africa, where it could threaten ant populations and the broader environment. In early March, 27-year-old Chinese national Zhang Kequn was detained at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya, with more than 2,200 live queen ants packed in his luggage. Around the same time, Thai authorities seized a shipment of ants sent from the Kenyan port city of Mombasa. The contraband insects were from the Messor…
Why are smugglers swarming East Africa for ants to send to China and Europe?
