Destructive grain pest found and destroyed by U.S. Customs
Ruiz: “Our agricultural specialists at LAX were able to intercept one adult and five larvae of this insect on a shipment of rice.” This was not the first visit to California for the pest. It popped up in a shipment in the 1950s requiring millions of dollars to eradicate it. Ruiz: “So it is pretty significant because technically you are talking about a bug that is pretty much knocking on the door trying to get into the U.S.” The khapra beetles were not in a commercial shipment. Instead it was a parcel from someone in Saudi Arabia with the origin of the rice from India. The shipment was immediately quarantined and safeguarded and then destroyed under U.S. Customs and Border Patrol supervision. The khapra beetle has several different life stages, can survive for long periods of time without food, and is resistant to insecticides and fumigants. Prior to this detection at LAX the Customs and Border Protection officials in Detroit found the khapra beetle in a shipment of tile from China last March. I’m Bob Hoff and that’s the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on Northwest Aginfo Net. ? ?
Farm and Ranch January 11, 2010 The khapra beetle is considered one of the worst invasive species in the world and one of the most destructive pests of grain and seed. It is not established in the United States but Jaime Ruiz of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection at Los Angeles International Airport says agency just detected the beetle in a package last week.
