“U.S. Border Protection Protects American Agriculture: Rare Pests Deported From Celery Shipment”

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recently discovered two rare foreign pests in a shipment of fresh celery at the Otay Mesa Cargo Facility. This first-in-port discovery could have posed a threat to local agriculture, but luckily CBP was able to swiftly turn the shipment back to Mexico.

The shipment arrived on January 16, but during initial inspection, a CBP Officer referred the driver and cargo load for an intensive agriculture inspection. That’s when CBP Agriculture Specialists found one live chrysomelidae and one live lepidoptera within the shipment of celery.

The pests were then submitted to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ). Two days later, the lepidoptera was identified as an actionable Copitarsia species and the chrysomelidae was identified as an Isotes multipunctate (Jacoby). According to the press release, this was the first time this particular pest had been found at the Otay Mesa Cargo Facility.

“Foreign insects, plant and animal diseases, and invasive plants, can be harmful to United States agriculture,” said Rosa Hernandez, CBP Otay Mesa Port Director. “It is