What primary vector facilitated the global expansion of *Anoplolepis gracilipes*?

Human activity and commerce

The widespread establishment of the yellow crazy ant outside its native South American range is almost entirely attributed to anthropogenic factors. Human activity, predominantly through global commerce and transportation networks, serves as the chief vector for their inadvertent spread across susceptible ecosystems worldwide. These invasive insects utilize transport mechanisms such as hitchhiking within contaminated soil, concealed within shipments of nursery stock or other plant materials, being embedded in timber products, or hiding inside machinery and shipping containers. This reliance on human movement dictates where new invasions occur, highlighting the necessity of stringent quarantine protocols on traded goods.