Smuggling of ants has increased in Kenya, the price of one ant is Rs 20 thousand! What is the reason behind illegal trade?

There is pleasant rainy weather in Kenya at present. During these rainy days, hardworking ants also come out of their holes and become active. Especially in the quiet agricultural town of Gilgil located in the Rift Valley of Kenya and its surrounding areas, thousands of ant mounds are filled with activity at this time. But along with this pleasant weather, a big crisis has also arisen for the ants.

Gilgil city has now become a major center of illegal trade of ants. This rainy season is the best opportunity for smugglers to catch queen ants. The surprising thing is that here the price of a queen ant is reaching Rs 20 thousand.

Gilgil becomes hotspot of ant smuggling

In the Gilgil area of ​​Kenya, anthills become active as soon as it starts raining. Smugglers take advantage of these opportunities and start capturing queen ants. The most demanded of these ants is ‘Giant African Harvester Ant’, which is large in size and red in colour. This black market mainly runs online. The price of a queen ant can reach up to £170 (approximately Rs 18,500 to Rs 20,000).

specialty of queen ant

A single queen ant is capable of founding an entire colony and can live for decades. It is also easy to send them abroad through post because scanners often cannot detect biological materials easily. These ants are called Messer Cephalotes in scientific language. They are native to East Africa and are popular among ant collectors due to their unique seed gathering behavior.

Disclosure of former broker

According to a report published in BBC, a person said on the condition of anonymity that he had once worked as a broker, who connected foreign buyers to the local network. He said, "Initially I didn’t even know it was illegal." The former broker further said, "A friend told me that a foreigner was paying good money for these queen ants. They are very red in color and easily visible.