(Sorry for the delay in posting this, Blogger was being cranky last night)
According to this report at ABC News, agriculture inspectors from U.S. Customs and Border Protection discovered a long-horned beetle (Rhytidodera bowringii) at a port in Miami Florida - the first incidence of this species known in the U.S.. The beetle is already well-known in Asia for decimating mango crops - a cause for alarm since Florida is the number one U.S. producer of mangoes. The discovery was made on a ship carrying granite from Hong Kong.
Bonus points to ABC News for keeping the beetle's scientific name in the report.
Update 3/16/06: An astute ISW reader pointed out that the beetle, reported in the AP article to be "about 4 inches long," was more likely about 4cm long - a 4 inch beetle would be a giant, and there are few species that measure up. So you might want to go back and edit those "I, for one, welcome our new ginormous beetle overlords" posts :-).
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