The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) confirmed on Friday that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agriculture specialists discovered a long-horned beetle larvae inside a bamboo stick carried by a passenger from Mexico, marking the first recorded find of the species in Philadelphia.
After the initial discovery, CBP submitted the pest specimen to the local USDA entomologist for identification while the bamboo itself was incinerated. USDA then forwarded the beetle to its national identifier where an entomologist confirmed the species as Trachyderes sp. of the Cerambycidae family and that the pest is new to the Philadelphia area.
This particular species is known as a major agricultural pest of coniferous and deciduous forests worldwide, killing live trees in their wake.
“Intercepting destructive insect invaders at our nation’s borders, and before they can threaten our agriculture industries, is of great importance to Customs and Border Protection,” Sustan Stranieri, CBP area port director for the Port of Philadelphia, said. “CBP agriculture specialists take their job very seriously, and recording this ‘first in port’ insect interception is a significant discovery.”
On an average day, CBP agriculture specialists inspect more than one million people as well as air and sea cargo imported into the United States.