A pest nearly made it into Guam via a shipping container that originated from China. 

Officers with the Guam Customs and Quarantine Agency’s Maritime and Biosecurity units found a beetle species they say has high potential of being invasive to Guam.

The Velvet Longhorn Beetles were crawling among cardboard boxes within the container during a satellite inspection in Yigo last Tuesday. 

Not native to Guam, the Velvet Longhorn Beetle is a wood-boring pest that can harm and potentially kill fruit trees, and both softwood and hardwood trees.

Samples were sent to both Guam and the U.S. Department of Agriculture and to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.

Officials said the container has been resealed and placed in quarantine before being sent back.