Border inspectors of food products have to keep a vigilant eye out for invasive species or new pests that could end up causing plenty of damage. U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Protection agriculture specialists at Newark Liberty International Airport were doing their jobs last week when they discovered a plant bug - Hallodapus sp (Miridae) - on a commercial shipment of thyme from Israel.
This new bug - called a plant bug - was trying to slip into the United States on a shipment of Israeli thyme. Ag inspectors caught the new-to-the-U.S. pest before it could enter the country.
This is the first discovery of this insect in the United States. The species is described as a quarantine pest that had the potential to cause economic damage to a trillion-dollar ag industry. The plant bug was forwarded to a USDA laboratory for identification and a final report confirmed the pest's identity.
Discovery of a new pest is nothing new to these ag specialists, according to a press release. In 2008, Newark specialists found 14 pests and diseases that have never been encountered in the U.S. This latest discovery of a quarantine pest puts the total to 6 newly encountered pests in the United States in FY 2009. USDA officials concluded that these interceptions were indeed first time finds not native to the United States and each discovery emphasizes the importance of the agriculture specialist's critical mission within CBP.
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