No one had seen this moth species in 100 years — until it appeared in airport luggage

For 109 years, a species of moth belonging to the Pyralidae family had not been seen anywhere in the world. But when U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials recently intercepted a package at a Detroit airport, they found the first sign of the insect since 1912.

Customs officials revealed on Monday, May 15, the luggage intercepted in September 2021 from a flight from the Philippines contained the beyond-rare species.

The passenger at Detroit Metropolitan Airport claimed seeds discovered in their baggage were for “medicinal tea,” but agriculture specialists found insect exit holes in the seed pods, according to customs officials.

The specialists collected moth larvae and pupae, and several of the pupae later hatched and revealed “very flashy moths with raised patches of black setae.” These characteristics indicated they belonged to the Pyralidae family, officials said.

Moths in the Pyralidae family are small to medium in size and have “thread-like antennae,” according to North Carolina State University’s Agriculture and Life Sciences department. Many of the species are brown or gray and have wings with a distinct pattern.

When agriculture specialists could not verify the species, they called upon a USDA Smithsonian Institution etymologist, who confirmed the species of the moth that was last encountered in 1912.

“Agriculture specialists play a vital role at our nation’s ports of entry by preventing the introduction of harmful exotic plant pests and foreign animal diseases into the United States,” Port Director Robert Larkin said in a statement. “This discovery is a testament to their important mission of identifying foreign pests and protecting America’s natural resources.”

Officials did not say what they plan on doing with the moths.