Customs agents foil destructive beetle at airport

Atlanata: U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents at the world's busiest airport say they've foiled a destructive beetle from entering the country, where it could have done massive damage to crops.
Customs officers at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport said Tuesday they recently intercepted the khapra beetle in the luggage of two passengers arriving from India.
The agency's agriculture specialists noticed a small beetle larva slightly larger than a pinhead. They made the discovery while inspecting a small bag of dried beans, authorities said.
Experts at a federal lab confirmed it was the khapra beetle, one of the world's most destructive pests which attacks stored seed and grain products. Atlanta customs officials said they destroyed the beans to prevent the insect from entering the U.S.
Customs officials said that a khapra beetle outbreak in the U.S. could cost millions of dollars in cleanup efforts. They said the damage could lead to tremendous economic losses to seed and grain producers because other nations would likely impose quarantine restrictions on contaminated exports of U.S. grain.
An outbreak of the beetle occurred in California in 1953, leading to an estimated $15 million cleanup effort and years of eradication, customs officers said.
23/03/11 Jeff Martin/Associated Press/Sacramento Bee

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Categories: Airports Mar 2011, Foreign Mar 2011