Environment 

Man Busted for Importing and Selling Exotic Ants

ants in test tubes
Picture: United Daily News.
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

Police and Council of Agriculture officials raided a residence in Miaoli County this morning and confiscated thousands of live ants imported from China. The haul included species that could cause significant damage to Taiwan’s ecology, and agricultural industry.

A 35 year old man surnamed Liu imported the ants from China after purchasing them on the Tabao network. He had been using Facebook to sell the ants.

More than 1,000 ants were seized consisting of various species, some of which were more than 1 centimeter long. Species included the European harvester ant
Messor barbarus, another species of harvester ant endemic to China, USSR, Korea, and Japan – Messor aciculatus, and a species native to China – Camponotus largiceps.

ants in test tubes
Illegal ant species seized by police and COA officials January 18, 2017, in Miaoli County.
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