Foreign invasionFirst in-port insect discovery by CBP in San Juan
An entomologist from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) confirmed recently that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agriculture specialists made a first in port discovery of an insect within an imported air cargo shipment of cut flowers arriving from Bogota, Colombia. CBP says that the Guayaquila pallescens, commonly called treehoppers or thorn bugsis the first of its species intercepted in Puerto Rico.
An entomologist from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) confirmed recently that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agriculture specialists made a first in port discovery of an insect within an imported air cargo shipment of cut flowers arriving from Bogota, Colombia.
On 7 October 2016, CBP Agriculture Specialists at San Juan Airport Cargo intercepted an insect on a shipment of cut flowers originating from Colombia. This insect was identified on 12 October by USDA-Plant Protection & Quarantine (PPQ) as Guayaquila pallescens Stal (Membracidae)which is an actionable pest and a “first time in port” interception.
The Membracidae is a family of insects found worldwide, commonly called treehoppers or thorn bugs. Insects in the genus Guayaquilla and its relatives are gregarious, forming primitive social groups and caring for their young, which may result in high numbers on a host. The plant bug intercepted, Guayaquila pallescens, is the first of its species intercepted in Puerto Rico.
In these cases, CBP issues an emergency action notification to the importer requiring the shipment to be re-exported, fumigated, or destroyed. This shipment was safeguarded and transferred for destruction.
“I would like to recognize the outstanding work that Agriculture Specialists at the San Juan Field Office perform daily,” said Mayra Claudio, San Juan Assistant Area Port Director for Trade. “These discoveries are a significant accomplishment, as well as a sobering warning of potential agricultural threats.”
CBP notes that its agriculture specialists work closely with USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) to protect the U.S. agriculture resources against the introduction of foreign plant pests and animal diseases.
