New Wheel and Bug Discovered in China
Published 16 Nov.2022 08:24(KST)
Found in Raw Wood Imported from Guinea, Africa, Quarantine Strengthened
DNA Test Reveals Cockroach Not Registered in Global Insect Database
[Asia Economy Senior Reporter Cho Young-shin] On the 16th, China's state-run Xinhua News Agency reported that a previously unknown new species of cockroach and insect was discovered at Zhongshan Port in Guangdong Province. It is known that over 4,000 species of cockroaches and insects inhabit the world.
Xinhua News Agency stated that the Zhongshan Port Customs authorities recently caught a winged insect in imported raw wood from French Guinea in Africa and sent it to a specialized institution, which confirmed it as a specimen reported for the first time in the world.
Xinhua explained that quarantine authorities conducted DNA verification of this insect, referred to related literature, and concluded that it is a new cockroach and insect species not reported to the global academic community.
They also added that information about this insect was published in the Chinese national-level journal, "Chinese Journal of Biology."
Xinhua quoted experts saying that the newly identified cockroach and insect have strong reproductive abilities and could threaten the ecosystem if introduced into China. They also emphasized that it could carry unknown pathogens and spread unexplained diseases.
Chinese media reported that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, and Customs jointly announced "measures to prevent the introduction of invasive species" and decided to strengthen quarantine. They added that up to now, about 660 species of invasive species have been confirmed on the Chinese mainland, and invasive species affect food and ecological security.
When invasive insects, animals, or plants enter an ecosystem, they destroy it. In South Korea, too, during port quarantine processes, the highly contagious pest red imported fire ant has been discovered, causing emergency control measures by quarantine authorities on several occasions.
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