Two teens, 5,000 ants and the new frontier of the wildlife black marketHannah Murphy with wiresTopic:Courts1h ago1 hours agoSat 10 May 2025 at 9:16pmFamily hug Belgian national Lornoy David, who was charged over his ant collection. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)abc.net.au/news/teens-caught-with-5000-ants-sentenced-over-wildlife-smuggling/105268748Link copiedShareShare articleOutside a Kenyan court, two shell-shocked teenagers were comforted by their families."We are not criminals, we are 18 years old, we are naive, and I just want to go home to start my life," one said.Their crime?Ant smuggling.Belgian national Seppe Lodewijckx is embraced by his own family outside the Nairobi court. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)Lornoy David and Seppe Lodewijckx claimed they had collected the ants for "fun" and didn't know it was illegal when authorities descended on their guest house in Kenya last month.The young men, originally from Belgium, were found to be in possession of about 5,000 ants, including messor cephalotes — a distinctive, large and rose-coloured harvester ant native to East Africa.The teenagers' lawyer would later claim they had been collecting the ants as a hobby, but the Kenya Wildlife Service charged them with planning to traffic the ants to markets in Europe and Asia.It said the teenagers had packed the ants into about 2,200 test tubes filled with cotton wool to help them survive, and the value of the seizure would equate to about 1.2 million Kenyan shillings ($14,367).Samples of garden ants concealed in syringes are presented to court as two Belgian nationals, a Vietnamese and a Kenyan national appeared for the hearing of their case. (Reuters: Monicah Mwangi)Magistrate Njeri Thuku gave the young men the option of either paying about 1 million Kenyan shillings fine, or serving 12 months in prison over the seizure."This is beyond a hobby," Magistrate Thuku said."Indeed, there is a biting shortage of messor cephalotes online."Why is ant smuggling so valuable?Two teens plead guilty to ant traffickingPhoto shows Two 18-year-old teenage men standing in court.The haul of giant African harvester ants could have been worth more than $1 million, and has drawn attention to wildlife trafficking of smaller animals.Two other men were also charged last month over attempting to traffic ants.The Kenyan Wildlife Authority said they had about 400 stashed in their apartments, which equated to about $1 million Kenyan shillings.Reuters reported if the ants seized from the teenagers' raid and the second raid were able to make it to European shores, it would have fetched about 124 million Kenyan shillings.One of Kenyan's leading insect experts Dino Martins said the value of the ants would have gone up depending on where they were shipped, particularly because at least 90 per cent would have died during transit."It's like cocaine," he said."The price of cocaine in Colombia versus getting a kilogram in the European market is such a big value addition, that's why people do it."Why is it so serious?The Kenya Wildlife Service director Erustus Kanga said the cases marked a turn away from big game trade on the black market."This case represents far more than insect smuggling," he said."We're seeing organised crime syndicates diversify from traditional ivory poaching to target our entire biodiversity — from medicinal plants, insects to micro-organisms."It's a trend noticed by the University of Adelaide's Wildlife Crime Research Hub expert Charlotte Lassaline.Ms Lassaline said imported ants could wreak havoc on Australia's delicate biodiversity. (Supplied: Qld Department of Agriculture and Fisheries)"The global wildlife trade is evolving in many ways," she said."Increased online connectivity has made it significantly easier to access non-native species, often with limited regulation, varying degrees of anonymity, and minimal traceability."At the same time, rising living costs and urbanisation have driven more people into smaller living spaces, such as apartments, where traditional pets like dogs and cats may be impractical due to space or expense.Study reveals scale of Australian species for sale overseasPhoto shows A tiny lizard sits in a man's hand.A new study has revealed a surprisingly high number of Australian species being sold overseas, as government authorities ramp up enforcement. "As a result, there is growing interest in more unusual yet easier-to-keep pets — particularly terrestrial invertebrates, such as ants, large burrowing cockroaches, snails, spiders, and scorpions."Ms Lassaline said some rare queen ants, which were essential to establishing a colony, could sell for up to more than 33,000 Kenyan shillings."Their high demand and limited availability make them especially vulnerable to illegal collection and poaching," she said.Ms Lassaline, who works tracking the illegal trade of animals in Australia and abroad, said it was particularly concerning to see ants were being targeted by traffickers."Australian ant species are not only being sought after by hobbyists and collectors, but that their growing popularity could leave them vulnerable to illegal collection and poaching," she said."Despite their size, ants play a big role in maintaining healthy ecosystems."Disrupting their populations through unregulated trade or overharvesting could have far-reaching ecological consequences."Posted 1h ago1 hours agoSat 10 May 2025 at 9:16pmShare optionsCopy linkFacebookX (formerly Twitter)Top StoriesIsrael is keeping up its blockade of aid as kids starve to deathTopic:WarPhoto shows A small baby in a pink onesie sleeps on a blue and yellow blanket.India-Pakistan ceasefire breaks down hours after truce announcedTopic:Unrest, Conflict and WarPhoto shows Two soldiers walk down a path next to people taking photos on the banks of a riverHow Australia's biggest pokies dynasty is rewriting its legacyTopic:GamblingPhoto shows Len Ainsworth poses for a portrait at a table in a dark room with poker machines behind him.Harry, Charles and the grief dilemma tearing apart the royal familyTopic:RoyaltyPhoto shows An older man and two younger men Soviet spacecraft Kosmos 482 plunges to Earth after 53 years in orbitTopic:SpacecraftPhoto shows A small circular spacecraftRelated storiesZombie ants among striking finds as scientists explore Arnhem LandTopic:AnimalsPhoto shows A macro shot of an ant covered in a fungus. 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