Unusual tick found at Port of Charleston

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) _ U.S. Customs agents in Charleston have discovered an unusual tick species at the Port of Charleston.

Steve Switzer with the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol in Charleston says the soft-bodied tick of the Argas species had not been seen at a port in the country until this new discovery.

The U.S. Agriculture Department says the tick can carry the West Nile virus.

This species of tick is usually found on birds in Africa, southern Europe, the Middle East and south-central Asia.

The tick was found in a shipment of work gloves from Pakistan. The shipment had been held for inspection because of previous beetle infestations.

The shipment has been sent back to Pakistan.

In April, Customs officials found a species known as big-headed ants in a container of aluminum scrap metal on a ship from Costa Rica.

That species of ants is listed among 100 of the “World’s Worst” invaders.

It threatens native plants and other insects and also is known to chew on irrigation pipes, telephone cables and electrical wires, Switzer said.