Rice shipment with destructive beetle stopped

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials in Chicago say they’ve turned a rice shipment back to Pakistan because it contained a destructive beetle.

Officials said in a Wednesday news release that the sea shipment of more than 1,000 bags of rice came into the Port of Chicago last week. They say agriculture specialists found evidence of Khapra beetles and sent the specimens to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The USDA confirmed the beetles were the same beetles known for destroying grain products.

Customs officials then refused entry to the shipment and said re-exportation would be required.

The USDA says the beetle is considered one of the worst invasive species because it can tolerate insecticides and can survive without food for long periods of time.