Modeling the spread of the Argentine ant into natural areas: Habitat suitability and spread from neighboring sites

► We model invasion of Argentine ants from developed areas into natural areas. ► We base the model on statistical analysis of a 17-yr dataset monitoring an invasion. ► Distance to developed areas best predicted which sites would be invaded. ► The presence of ants in neighboring sites helped predict when sites would be invaded. ► Our results highlight the importance of the size of preserves in urban landscapes.