An invasive species destructive to the agriculture industry known as the tortoise beetle was found in a shipment of fresh pineapple attempting to cross into the U.S. from Mexico at the Progreso port of entry, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said in a news release Friday.
Federal authorities at the Progreso-Nuevo Progreso International Bridge stopped a tractor-trailer that was carrying fresh pineapple Tuesday, and during their examination of the vehicle, a CBP agriculture specialist found the beetle on the floor of the trailer, which was refused entry.
After submitting the beetle to an entomologist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture it was “confirmed as belonging to the genus Stolas sp.,” also known as Chrysomelidae.
CBP referred to the beetle’s discovery as a “first-in-port interception.”
The USDA’s Systematic Entomology Laboratory, Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. identified the insect as the tortoise beetle on Wednesday, according to the release.
“CBP Agriculture Specialists play a vital role in safeguarding our frontline by protecting the agriculture industry which in turn protects our economy,” Progreso port Director Walter Weaver said in the release. “The vigilance displayed by CBP Agriculture Specialists at the Port of Progreso is a prime example of their commitment to the CBP mission.”
This beetle, in the Chrysomelidae family, are also known as leaf beetles and are known to feed on plants.
“The Stolas genus is a known invasive pest in the U.S. and is deemed harmful to the U.S. agriculture industry, which in turn can have a detrimental impact on the U.S. economy,” the release stated, further identifying the beetle as a subfamily of the leaf beetles, Cassidinae, which are known for their tortoise-shaped carapace.
