Moth Discovered in Detroit That Hasn’t Been Seen For 110 Years
The U.S. Customs find a lot of strange stuff when checking people's baggage when entering and leaving the country like a moth that hasn't been seen in 110 years.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the largest federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security, and the country's primary border control organization.
It's not just passports the U.S. Customs and Border Protection are assigned to check when at an airport or driving across the U.S. border into Canada and Mexico. They look for contraband from drugs to weapons, anything illegal, fruit, vegetables, bombs, and anything terrorists-related.
I'm sure the Customs and Border agents find some funny stuff that people try to smuggle in or out of the country while doing their jobs but that will have to be for another article down the road.
Moth That Hasn't Been Seen in 110 Years
This particular species of Pyralidae Moth was first discovered in 1912. There are about 6000 species of moths in the Pyralidae family and that is what makes this discovery so unique.
According to FOX 17, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection at Detroit's Metro Airport were searching a passenger's bag who was arriving from the Phillippines. Customs found some pods that were supposedly used for medicinal tea.
When CBP was looking closer at the pods they saw there were insect holes in them that contained moth larvae on them. The larvae were put in quarantine as a precaution and then moths began to hatch.
Once the larvae turned into moths is when experts from the USDA Smithsonian noticed this particular moth had not been seen since it was discovered.
There is no danger in moths from the Pyralidae family but it is CBP's job to check out anything that could harm America.