Rare, Crop-Damaging Pest Caught in AZ!
An example of a leafhopper
NOGALES, AZ—What seemed like an ordinary shipment of leafy greens from Mexico turned out to have an unexpectedly rare stowaway earlier this month!
Produce inspectors at the Mariposa Commercial station discovered a tiny insect called a leafhopper on May 8. While some species of leafhopper are common even in the United States, this one the inspectors caught is extremely rare!
In fact, this species (Polyamia arachnion Kramer) has only been seen in the U.S. one other time since 1969. And thankfully so, because this exotic (non-native) pest can destroy lettuce crops and spread plant diseases.
The inspectors caught and quarantined (isolated) the little sucker. Leafhoppers are found on the underside of leaves. They are only a few millimeters long and eat by using a needle-like mouthpart to suck out juices from the plant. Several leafhoppers can cause yellow or dead spots on a large leaf, but these insects can also spread bacteria or viruses that can damage or destroy crops.
Each year U.S. imports around $20 billion in Mexican produce—more than half of its imported vegetables and fruits like tomatoes, watermelons, lettuce and bell peppers. The produce is inspected to prevent infestations and the accidental spread of plant diseases.
