Strange, invasive beetle species seized by U.S. Customs officials in Houston

www.chron.com...

Travelers from Sudan, India, and Turkey were found to have luggage containing "live, dead Khapra beetles and cast Khapra beetle skin remains" among various food items they had packed.

These beetles are termed as a federal-quarantine pest, capable of destroying grain products and seeds. An infestation could cost millions to eradicate because the hearty beetles are resistant to a variety of insecticides. An introduction to the country's agriculture system could be detrimental.

In June 2017 the Houston Chronicle reported on a similar find at IAH when a traveler coming from Sudan had the beetles' live larvae among chickpeas and hibiscus in a suitcase.

this is exactly the sort of thing our government should be doing.
good job Customs/Border.

we have enough nasty destructive bugs already without importing them.

a reply to: ElGoobero

I've taken a lot of vacations but beetle larvae/remains has never been something I packed.

People are weird... or maybe just filthy if it wasn't intentional.


This is a good catch by customs though, good to know they are keeping an eye out... it's amazing how damaging foreign elements/predators/pests can be to an ecosystem.

Whether we like it or not, the future of food is bugs:

US military program could be seen as bioweapon

In India, I noticed every chick pea (called chana) has a "chick", or beetle larva inside of it. This is why they're called "chick peas". You get used to it.

a reply to: Namdru
those where probably badly stored and weavils have got to them, "chick pea" name from europe has evolved a bit from its latin beginings "cicer" what you was eating in rough latin slang was testicle peas... or if you prefer hebrew "kikkar" a round mass.

I do notice they check all creases of suitcases.

Gotta wonder though...

How many of these bugs got past customs and are already here in southern US

And also what sort of GMO bugs are quietly being bred and released domestically by giants like Monsanto.

a reply to: ElGoobero

When people try to smuggle this stuff in, they should be sent back to where they flew from..try again with no foodstuffs, like the very explicit rules indicate.