Potentially destructive moth thwarted, identified amid Detroit Metro luggage

A potentially destructive moth that has never been seen at a U.S. port of entry was intercepted early this year at Detroit Metro Airport. 

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the moth was noticed in January during a routine inspection of luggage from Ghana, when a K-9 trained in agricultural detection alerted CBP staff to something unusual. A closer examination of corn and seeds among the passenger's belongings revealed a small, winged insect. 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed identification of the species on Aug. 12 as a non-native straw crest moth (Mesophleps silacella). Customs officials have since determined this was the first known encounter of this species at a U.S. port of entry. 

The straw crest moth is native to Europe and parts of Asia. It is known to feed on plants in the rockrose family. 

"This first-in-the-nation interception demonstrates how thoroughly our agriculture specialists search items entering the United States to identify and stop potential pests," Port Director Fadia Pastilong said. "I'm proud of the work our agriculture specialists here do every day, which includes the interception of hundreds of pests each year that could threaten the U.S. agriculture industry." 

The passenger, a citizen of Ghana, was reminded of agricultural import requirements and released without further issue. 

Customs officials said the reason for preventing the spread of a species beyond its known territory is that predators and plants in another environment may not be able to control the population of a newly introduced life form. 

"Declaring food and agricultural items isn't just a formality — it's our first line of defense against threats that can devastate our crops, compromise our food supply, and destabilize our economy," CBP Director of Field Operations Marty C. Raybon said. 

A list of prohibited and restricted items for airline travel into the U.S. is available on the CBP website.       

Previous reports of unwelcome agricultural pests intercepted by Customs and Border Protection at Detroit Metro have included a Southern cattle tick nymph among leaves arriving from Vietnam, a medfly amid damaged fruit with a passenger from Albania, and caper fruit fly larvae amid fresh flowers from Italy. 

The above video originally aired on July 25, 2025.