Oct. 18 (UPI) — U.S. Customs & Border Patrol agricultural specialists at the Port of San Luis in Arizona intercepted an insect not previously identified in the United States: Osbornellus sallus.
CBP Tucson office specialists found the pests during a routine inspection of a radicchio shipment arriving from Mexico at the port halfway between San Diego and Tucson, according to the agency on Friday.
Radicchio is a bitter and spicy leaf vegetable.
The Osbornellus sallus — which is a type of leafhopper that feeds on plants by sucking sap from grasses, trees and shrubs — was sent to an entomologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Plant Health Inspection Service Plant Inspection and Quarantine.
USDA’s National Identification service confirmed it was a “first-in-the-nation” interception, and it is a potential threat to U.S. agriculture.
It was sent back to Mexico in accordance with protocol.
There are at least 105 species of Osboronellius, according to the National Museum of Natural History. Sallus is the Latin species name that translates to salty in English.
“CBP agriculture specialists are highly trained in detecting harmful pests,” Guadalupe Ramirez, director of field operations in Tucson, said.
“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,” Ramirez said.
CBP’s Office of Field Operations is part of Homeland Security.