DETROIT — A foreign moth that could have stirred up trouble was intercepted for the first time in the United States at Detroit Metro Airport, officials said.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers captured the potentially destructive winged bug, a straw crest moth — Mesophleps silacella — at the airport in January, representatives said.

"This first-in-the-nation interception demonstrates how thoroughly our agriculture specialists search items entering the United States to identify and stop potential pests,” Fadia Pastilong, the agency's Port Director, said in a statement Tuesday. "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."

How it was found

An agriculture detector canine alerted CBP officers to luggage belonging to a traveler arriving from Ghana during routine inspection, according to authorities.

Officers inspected the baggage and found the moth among corn and seeds inside it.

The luggage's owner, a citizen of Ghana, was informed about agriculture import requirements and released.

Officials said U.S. Department of Agriculture specialists later identified the critter as a non-native straw crest moth.

The insect, which is found in Europe and parts of Africa, feeds on plants in the rockrose family. There are about 4,700 known gelechiid species worldwide and the family includes several invasive and destructive pests. Some of the species are harmless in their native lands because predators and plant resistance control their numbers. However, the balance can be disrupted when pests enter a new area without those natural controls.

Authorities said the USDA confirmed its identification on Aug. 12, and records said the encounter was the first with the species at a U.S. port of entry.

"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," Marty Raybon, CBP's director of Field Operations in Detroit, said in a statement.

Other DTW finds

The moth is among the latest potentially invasive insects that authorities have confiscated from travelers at Detroit Metro Airport.

Officials said in January that the remains of an invasive beetle from South Asia were intercepted at the airport in April 2025. Similiar remains of the bug were found at the airport in 2023.

They intercepted an African bark beetle in a traveler's belongings at the airport during a routine inspection in February.

Officers intercepted fresh cherries infested with European cherry fruit fly at the airport in June.

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