For the first time ever, a “corimelaena palmeri” insect has been documented in the US after hitching a ride in a shipment of fresh cut flowers, according to Customs officials.
The bug was discovered in October among a shipment of fresh cut flowers in a tractor-trailer at the Otay Mesa Cargo Facility, according to a Wednesday news release from US Customs and Border Protection. The facility processes shipments coming from Mexico into San Diego.
A Customs officer referred the driver and shipment to “an intensive agriculture inspection,” says the news release. That’s when the office’s agricultural specialists discovered an “unusual insect” within the flowers. From there, Customs submitted the bug to the United States Department of Agriculture Plant Protection and Quarantine Identifiers, which sent it to a lab for further identification.
The shipment and driver were returned to Mexico, the release said.
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