Larvae of Dangerous Beetle
Found at Lewiston Bridge
LEWISTON, NY – U.S. Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists working at the Lewiston Bridge discovered live Khapra Beetle larvae, one of the world’s most destructive insect pests, inside a shipment of rain ponchos from China. On October 28, 2014 an ocean container being hauled by a commercial tractor arrived at the Lewiston Bridge and was referred for further examination. During a physical inspection of the commodity, CBP agriculture specialists discovered three live insect larvae. The container was sealed and the pest was forwarded to USDA for identification. Thursday, a USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) – Plant Protection and Quarantine entomologist identified the pest as Trogoderma granarium Everts, commonly known as Khapra Beetle. The shipment was sealed and re-exported to Canada. “Intercepting Khapra Beetle is vital to the agriculture industry, said Randy Howe, Director of Field Operations for the CBP Buffalo Field Office. “In th...