The Scotland Yard of the bug world: A new insectary in California targets agricultural pests like the glassy- winged sharpshooter and the eucalyptus longhorned borer.(USA)

Byline: Daniel B. Wood Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

RIVERSIDE, CALIF. -- Exotic pests are in the news here.

No, not the politicians in the nation's capital, or corporate lobbyists, or even us media jackals, but rather an altogether different class of slug, nit, and louse.

That would be the pesky and microscopic kind that get into lettuce, oranges, and grapes and can ruin the food industry's whole day, while costing consumers billions. Or the amoeba-size microbes that feast on your favorite tree and can permanently alter the landscape of an entire state - from leafy and beautiful to postnuclear and lunarlike.

Though the bugs' names might raise a chuckle - glassy-winged sharpshooter, eucalyptus longhorned borer - the …

The Scotland Yard of the bug world: A new insectary in California targets agricultural pests like the glassy- winged sharpshooter and the eucalyptus longhorned borer.(USA)

Byline: Daniel B. Wood Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

RIVERSIDE, CALIF. -- Exotic pests are in the news here.

No, not the politicians in the nation's capital, or corporate lobbyists, or even us media jackals, but rather an altogether different class of slug, nit, and louse.

That would be the pesky and microscopic kind that get into lettuce, oranges, and grapes and can ruin the food industry's whole day, while costing consumers billions. Or the amoeba-size microbes that feast on your favorite tree and can permanently alter the landscape of an entire state - from leafy and beautiful to postnuclear and lunarlike.

Though the bugs' names might raise a chuckle - glassy-winged sharpshooter, eucalyptus longhorned borer - the …