‘Unusual’ stowaway on celery shipment is concerning first for California port, feds say
An “unusual” stowaway was found on a shipment of fresh celery to California, according to a federal agency.
After the shipment arrived, an officer asked for “an intensive agriculture inspection,” wherein agricultural specialists found two pests while examining a shipment at Otay Mesa Port of Entry on Jan. 16, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a Feb. 13 news release.
The specialists found “one live chrysomelidae and one live lepidoptera,” the agency said.
“The traveler and shipment were then returned directly to Mexico,” the agency said.
After being submitted to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the lepidoptera was identified as a “Copitarsia species,” while the chrysomelidae was identified as a “Isotes multipunctate (Jacoby),” the agency said.
While it’s not the first time the “rare” Isotes multipunctate (Jacoby) has been found nationwide, it was a “first-time discovery” for the port, the agency said.
“Foreign insects, plant and animal diseases, and invasive plants, can be harmful to United States agriculture,” Rosa Hernandez, the port’s director, said in the release. “It is an important part of the CBP mission to identify and stop pests and diseases at the border prior to entering the country.”
Otay Mesa Port of Entry is in San Diego.
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