U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (CBP) agriculture
specialists at the Port of San Luis, Arizona, have intercepted Osbornellus salsus,
a leafhopper species detected
for the first time in the United States.
The pest was found
during a routine
inspection of a radicchio shipment from Mexico. After
confirmation by the USDA’s
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and National Identification Service,
the shipment was secured
and returned to Mexico in line with biosecurity protocols.
Osbornellus salsus feeds on
plant sap and may transmit plant diseases, posing a potential threat to U.S.
agriculture. CBP officials praised the operation as an example of strong
collaboration between CBP
and USDA in safeguarding national food and agricultural
resources from invasive
species.
U.S.
Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists at the Port of San Luis made
a significant discovery, intercepting a pest identified as Osbornellus
salsus. The finding marks the first time this species
has been identified in the United States.
Osbornellus
salsus
The
discovery was made by CBP agriculture specialists during a routine inspection of
a radicchio shipment arriving from Mexico. A specimen was collected and forwarded
to an entomologist at the United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Service Plant Protection and Quarantine. The USDA's National Identification
Service confirmed the insect was Osbornellus salsus and verified it as a "first-in-the-nation"
interception.
Osbornellus salsus is a type
of leafhopper, an insect that feeds on plants by sucking sap from grasses, trees,
and shrubs. Some leafhoppers are known to transmit various plant diseases and pathogens,
posing a potential threat to U.S. agriculture.
In
accordance with protocol, the radicchio shipment was safeguarded and returned to
Mexico.
“CBP
agriculture specialists are highly trained in detecting harmful pests. They do an
excellent job in determining the admissibility of agriculture commodities,” said
Director of Field Operations Guadalupe Ramirez, Tucson Field Office. “We have a
great working relationship with our USDA partners and together we protect the nation
from a variety of evolving dynamic threats such as invasive pests that could harm
the United States’ agriculture resources.”
CBP
agriculture specialists have extensive experience in biological sciences and agriculture
inspection. More information on this career is available at: http://www.cbp.gov/border-security/protecting-agriculture.
CBP's
Office of Field Operations is the primary organization within Homeland Security
tasked with an anti-terrorism mission at our nation’s ports. CBP officers screen
all people, vehicles, and goods entering the United States while facilitating the
flow of legitimate trade and travel. They also carry out border-related duties,
including narcotics interdiction, immigration and trade law enforcement, and protecting
the nation's food supply and agriculture industry from pests and diseases.