The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) intercepted a potentially destructive moth at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport earlier this year, the first encounter with the species in the U.S., federal officials announced on Tuesday, Sept. 1, after confirming the species.
Local CBP officials confirmed identification of the straw crest moth (Mesophleps silacella) with the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Aug. 12.
“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 in a Tuesday news release. “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 interception isn't the first time in recent years that CBP has found invasive species at Detroit Metropolitan Airport. In January, a beetle was found and a differentinvasive bugwas found in 2025. Another person tried to bring in invasive snailsin 2024.
The initial discovery took place in January 2026 after a canine alerted officials to corn and seeds in luggage from Ghana during a routine inspection.
The traveler, a citizen of Ghana, was released.
Specialists later identified the insect found in Europe and parts of Africa.
There are about 4,700 known gelechiid species worldwide and the family includes several invasive and destructive pests that feed on plants in the rockrose or cistusfamily.
Jalen Williams is a trending reporter at the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at jawilliams1@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Border Patrol K-9 finds invasive moth at Detroit airport. What happened
