The San Luis Obispo County Agriculture Department finished its investigation into an invasive species that experts worried may have been shipped to the central coast.
The organization says in late spring this year, a wholesale nursery in Fresno County shipped grape plants containing glass-winged sharpshooters- a type of bug that is categorized as invasive in California- to several stores across the state. Experts tracked one of those shipments to San Luis Obispo County.
The county began an investigation to determine whether any of the plant material had been distributed locally.
Investigators learned that while plants were shipped to San Luis Obispo County during that time, none of the shipments included grape plants or glass-winged sharpshooters.
Out of an abundance of caution, experts carefully inspected each plant for signs of the bug's eggs, nymphs, and adults. They found no evidence of the pest. They also put insect traps at the affected store.
While the glass-winged sharpshooter poses no threat to human health, it is a California pest of significant concern to the grape industry.
The bug is an invasive species that feeds on the fluids of many plants species. It can also spread the bacterium that causes a fatal grapevine disease.
