The “corimelaena palmeri,” an insect known for being a “pest,” was discovered in a shipment by officials with the U.S. Border and Customs Protection. This is the first time the insect has been documented in the country.
The agency shared in a press release that the “pest-ering” bug was discovered in October among freshly cut flowers being shipped in a tractor-trailer at the Otay Mesa Cargo Facility in California, which is known for processing shipments from Mexico headed to San Diego.
The driver and the shipment were sent to “an intensive agriculture inspection,” where agriculture specialists discovered the “unusual insect” inside the flowers.
The bug was collected by the specialists, who then submitted it to the United States Department of Agriculture Plant Protection and Quarantine Identifiers. From there, a lab examined the bug in order to identify it.
The release shared that after the inspection was completed and the insect was found and captured, the driver and their shipment were returned to Mexico.
Months after the encounter, the bug was finally identified as the corimelaena palmeri, the release shared. The lab made its final identification on Jan. 25, noting that it was “a first-time interception of this pest in the nation.”
Sidney Aki, the Customs and Border Protection’s director of field operations in San Diego, shared in the release that the discovery of the pest was an “extraordinary achievement” for the agency.
“Each year, CBP Agriculture Specialists intercept tens of thousands of pests, this accomplishment is a reflection of their immense hard work and dedication,” Aki said.
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