Exotic pest found at Brownsville port
BROWNSVILLE — U.S. Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists at the Port of Brownsville have intercepted adult specimens and eggs of a ravenous foreign pest that poses a major threat to U.S agriculture.
The discovery was made Wednesday afternoon during an inspection of a foreign vessel that had arrived from Asia, according to the agency.
The Asian gypsy moth specimens were collected and transported to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Plant Inspection Station at Los Indios for identification. Results have already come back positive, however, for specimens sent to other labs for molecular testing.
The moth poses a threat because it doesn't have any natural predators, CBP spokesman Eduardo Perez said.
"The danger is that if they are allowed to spread, they will spread and spread," he said.
Agriculture specialists working at U.S. ports of entry ensure incoming vessels and cargo are not contaminated with pests and diseases that could harm U.S. agricultural products, Perez said. In the event that pests are found, the specialists take extraordinary precautions by treating the entire area with pesticides after removing the specimens.
This incident is the third time the Asian gypsy moth has been found in Texas in the past year. The first interception was at the Port of Houston on Aug. 18, and the second was in Brownsville on Sept. 8.
The Asian gypsy moth is even more damaging than the more commonly found European gypsy moth because it has a broader appetite, consuming more than 500 species of trees and shrubs.
"Protecting trees and plants is CBP agriculture specialists' primary job as the front line in the fight against the introduction of insects, pests and plant diseases into the United States," said Michael T. Freeman, CBP's port director at the Port of Brownsville.
