ROMULUS, Mich. – U.S. Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists made a first-in-the-nation interception of a potentially destructive moth at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport earlier this year.
According to a departmental release September 1, the initial discovery took place in January after an agriculture detector canine alerted CBP staff to luggage from Ghana during a routine inspection. Closer examination of corn and seeds found within the luggage revealed a small, winged insect, which U.S. Department of Agriculture specialists later identified as a non-native straw crest moth (Mesophleps silacella) on Aug. 12, and records indicate this a first encounter with the species at a U.S. port of entry.
