'Potentially Destructive' Larvae Intercepted at Major U.S. Airport

U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents intercepted "rare and potentially destructive" fruit fly larvae from the Detroit Metro Airport that could have had a detrimental impact on agriculture if introduced into the country.

The incident took place in June, when a traveler flying into Detroit from Italy was directed to baggage check to have their luggage searched after refusing to answer agricultural questions. While conducting the search, specialists with the federal law enforcement agency discovered the larvae hiding among fresh caper flowers.

Officials with border control and the U.S. Department of Agriculture suspected the larvae to be that of the caper fruit fly, and had them sent to the USDA Systemic Entomology Laboratory for testing. This month, their suspicions were confirmed that it was indeed caper fruit fly larvae, Click on Detroit reported on Thursday.

Caper fruit flies are part of family of insects that includes the Mediterranean fruit fly, Oriental fruit fly, melon fly, and Mexican fruit fly. According to CBP, the flies are considered to be some of the most damaging agriculture pests in the world.

"Our CBP officers and agriculture specialists work hand-in-hand to stop potential threats before they have potential to cause economic damage," Port Director Fadia Pastilong said in a statement. "Pests like this may be the next introduced species of concern if they go undetected."

There has only been one other time that border agents intercepted caper fruit fly larvae and that was 20 years ago in Tampa, FL.

Interestingly enough, that wasn't the only customs incident to make headlines out of Detroit over the summer.

Back in July, customs agents seized 90 giant African land snails that a traveler arriving from Ghana had attempted to pass through customs. Though they had declared that the luggage contained fresh food items, officials flagged the gastropods when they noticed a strange odor emanating from a bag inside the suitcase.