This marks the first instance of the pest in the U.S.
Agricultural inspectors recently prevented a pest from entering the U.S.
On Oct. 17, CBP ag specialists at the Port of San Luis in California discovered the Osbornellus sallus, a type of leafhopper, in a shipment of radicchio from Mexico.
The USDA’s National Identification Service confirmed this as a “first-in-the-nation” interception.
CBP inspectors denied the shipment entry into the U.S.
“We have a great working relationship with our USDA partners and together we protect the nation from a variety of evolving dynamic threats such as invasive pests that could harm the United States’ agriculture resources,” Guadalupe Ramirez, director of field operations at the Tucson field office, said in a statement.
There are at least 105 species of Osbornellus insects, according to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.
Sallus is latin for “salty.”
Insects in the leafhopper family feed on plants by sucking sap from grasses, trees, and shrubs. Some can also carry plant diseases and pathogens like aster yellows which can affect carrots, lettuce, potatoes, and canola.
Leafhoppers can also carry Western X-disease, blueberry stunt, or cranberry false blossom.
CBP agriculture specialists work to keep threats to American ag out of the country.
Here are some other interceptions the inspectors have made in 2025.
In January, specialists at the Calexico cargo facility a Campiglossa peregrina in a shipment of red and green leaf lettuce.
In June at the Pharr International Bridge Carp Lot, inspectors intercepted three “first in nation” pests.
“The identifications were confirmed as Cyclocephala Fulgurata Burmeister (Scarabaeidae) and Cardiophorus aptopoides Candze (Elateridae),” CBP said.
And in July, officers at the Hidalgo International Bridge seized prohibited and undeclared fruits and fresh plant leaves, and issued a $300 fine.