bring in plants and food which might carry the dangerous Pink Hibiscus Mealybug.

The pest feeds on more than 200 species of plant, including hibiscus, oleander, avocado, palm trees, citrus and some vegetables like squash and pumpkin.

Experts believe Bermuda's diverse plant life would be an ideal breeding ground for it.

The Pink Mealybug sucks juices from its host plant while simultaneously injecting toxic saliva, leading to the malformation of leaves, ultimately leading to the death of the plant or tree.

Symptoms to look for are leaves curling, crinkling or twisting; flowers not opening but shrivelling and dying instead; deformed fruits; and clusters of small soft-bodied insects in white powdery cotton-like masses.

Bermuda is already home to a different species of mealybug that look almost identical but is not as voracious.

The Pink Hibiscus Mealybug is currently cutting a swath through the Caribbean, from Trinidad and Tobago to Puerto Rico.

The US Department of Agriculture calls the Pink Hibiscus Mealybug "a pest of extreme serious quarantine importance'' and Florida is on a state of alert for an inevitable arrival.

Travellers who inadvertently bring in infested fruits, or do not declare fruit, could cause another ecological disaster equal to the cedar blight of the 1940s.

In 1994, the pest caused $1.8 million in crop damage in Grenada and, in Trinidad, it has caused environmental and economic damage worth between $3.5 and $125 million.

All fruits, vegetables, and plants including seeds, bark, and flowers must be declared to Customs upon arrival in Bermuda.