PHILADELPHIA: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) confirmed Friday that a long horned beetle larvae that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agriculture specialists discovered inside a bamboo stick carried by a passenger arriving from Mexico, is the first recorded find of this species in Philadelphia.
CBP discovered the beetle larvae burrowed into a bamboo stick carried by a passenger arriving from Mexico. CBP submitted the pest specimen to the local USDA entomologist for identification and the bamboo was incinerated. USDA forwarded it to their national identifier where an entomologist confirmed the species as Trachyderes sp. of the Cerambycidae family and advised CBP that the insect is a pest new to the Philadelphia area.
The USDA confirmed that a long horned beetle larvae CBP discovered inside a bamboo stick a passenger carried from Mexico, is the first recorded find of this species in Philadelphia.According to the USDA, wood boring beetles of the family Cerambycidae, or long horned beetles, are known as major agricultural pests of coniferous and deciduous forests worldwide; attacking and sometimes killing live trees.
“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,” said Susan Stranieri, CBP Area Port Director for the Port of Philadelphia. “CBP agriculture specialists take their job very seriously, and recording this ‘first in port’ insect interception is a significant discovery.”
CBP agriculture specialists have extensive training and experience in the biological sciences, risk analysis, and in the agriculture inspection techniques for imports. CBP agriculture specialists are the first line of defense in the protection of U.S. agriculture, forest, and livestock industries from exotic destructive plant pests and animal diseases.
On a typical day nationally, CBP agriculture specialists inspect over 1 million people as well as air and sea cargo imported to the United States and intercept 4,548 prohibited meat, plant materials or animal products, including 470 agriculture pests and diseases. Read more about CBP’s agriculture protection mission.
