Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials detailed the recent interception of a rare pest discovered in a shipment of fresh fruit at the Pharr International Bridge in Pharr, Texas.
“Our agriculture specialists help protect American agriculture and contribute to the nation’s economic security by denying entry to invasive species not known to exist in the U.S.,” Port Director Carlos Rodriguez, Hidalgo/Pharr/Anzalduas Port of Entry, said.
A specimen of Cochabamba sp., a species belonging to the leaf beetle family, was found on May 2, 2022, during an inspection of a commercial shipment of fruit arriving from Mexico within boxes of mangosteen.
The pest, which was submitted for identification to a Department of Agriculture entomology laboratory, can cause agricultural and economic damage when larvae skeletonize the leaf surface and adults eat plant and tree leaves, causing damage to foliage. The shipment was refused entry and returned to Mexico.
USDA entomologists said the Cochabamba sp. has never been located at any of the nation’s ports of entry. CBP noted the interception serves as an example of the work agency agriculture specialists perform daily to fulfill CBP’s agriculture mission of preventing foreign pests from establishing domestically.