ROMULUS, Mich. (News 10) – U.S. Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists at Detroit Metropolitan Airport intercepted a first-in-the-nation batch of potentially destructive giant scale insects earlier this year, officials said.
The approximately 5-millimeter-long insects were found feeding on fresh pine bark brought into the United States for medicinal purposes during a routine baggage inspection of a passenger traveling from Cameroon to Illinois, according to CBP.
CBP and U.S. Department of Agriculture officials identified the insects as a type of giant scale in February. The USDA confirmed Aug. 7 that the insects belonged to the Aspidoproctus species.
According to CBP, records indicate this was the first time the species had been encountered at a U.S. port of entry…