Logging speeds little red fire ant invasion of Africa

Here, we document the invasion of equatorial Africa by the little red fire ant (Wasmannia auropunctata). Commercial logging and other forms of natural resource extraction have catapulted W auropunctata into the interior of Gabon at a rate 60 times faster than the unassisted rate we measured over 19 years at the Lope Reserve. We also present photographic evidence suggesting that W auropunctata is negatively affecting the country's exceptionally rich and intact large mammal fauna.