Millionaires Are Fighting Over These Ants: Do You Have Them?, One is Worth over $220 USD

The Giant African Harvester Ant (Messor cephalotes) is the most expensive ant you can buy. One ant can cost up to $220! People who collect exotic pets, especially ants, love this species for its big size, cool looks, and special habits. This has made it super popular in places like Europe and Asia, but it’s also caused some problems.

These ants come from East Africa’s grassy lands. They’re huge for ants—workers grow to 20mm, and queens can hit 24mm. Their red-black color makes them stand out, like tiny jewels in ant farms. What’s really neat is how they collect seeds and store them like a tiny pantry. People who keep ants as pets find this fun to watch, which is why they’re willing to pay so much.

A big news story from Kenya showed how pricey these ants are. Police caught someone trying to smuggle 5,400 of them, worth over $10,000. Each ant was valued at about $220 because they’re hard to find and tricky to get legally. Rules about trading wildlife make it tough to buy these ants the right way, so they cost a lot. Even trusted sellers, like The Ant Vault, don’t always have them, which pushes the price higher.

Other ants, like the giant Dinoponera gigantea or the rare Nothomyrmecia macrops, are special for science or saving nature, but they don’t cost as much to buy as Messor cephalotes. Weaver ants (Oecophylla smaragdina), which make nests from leaves, are cool but cheaper because they’re more common. Some ants, like fire ants (Solenopsis invicta), cause billions in damage to farms and homes, but that’s a different kind of “cost,” not for collectors.

For people who love ant-keeping, owning a Messor cephalotes colony is a big deal, like having a rare toy or collectible. But buyers need to be careful. There are laws to protect these ants, and smuggling hurts nature. It’s best to buy from sellers who follow the rules and know how to care for the ants, since they need special setups to stay healthy.

The Messor cephalotes is so expensive because ant-keeping is getting more popular. People are amazed by these tiny creatures and want them in their collections. But as more people want them, we need to make sure we’re protecting these ants so they don’t disappear. For now, this ant is the king of the ant-keeping world, loved for its size and beauty—and its huge price tag.