Cactus moth problems

Anne Kilmer viceroy at GATE.NET
Thu May 16 12:37:15 EDT 2002


Forgive the cross posting.
Posted by Florida Pest Alert:
Although many countries, like Australia, view the cactus moth,
Cactoblastis cactorum (Berg), as a beneficial insect, in the United
States it is also a pest species. Eventually it may affect the food
supply in Texas and into Mexico where the fruit and young vegetative
parts of Opuntia spp. form part of the staple diet of humans and where
chopped plants serve as cattle fodder in times of drought.

USDA-APHIS is launching an effort to track the progress of the cactus
moth throughout the Southeast in hopes of controlling its progress.

Dr. Ken Bloem, USDA-APHIS, and his colleagues are asking for help in
tracking the range of this species.

For details see the Florida Pest Alert site.

The Florida Pest Alert WWW site is available at
http://extlab7.entnem.ufl.edu/PestAlert/

end quote

I thought some of you moth fanciers would be interested in this. I've 
watched the moth spread through my patch of South Florida, devastate 
garden plantings and wipe out beach and scrub sites. The larva burrows 
into the cactus pad, so predators don't go after it. A systemic 
insecticide would ruin the plant for food, of course.
So ... of course gardeners are helping the little demons along, by 
carrying cactus pads from garden to garden. That's probably how it got 
to the mainland, from one of the islands where our noble gov't was using 
it to "control" the prickly pears.
Fire ants are probably not smart enough to go in after it, as they do 
after the cane borers and such.

Would you southerners, anyone who grows Opuntia or knows of a stand, 
kindly join in this prolonged funeral for the genus? You'll know the 
moth is there because the cactus looks blighted and you see mines, both 
shallow and deep.
I don't know which I fear more: That the USDA will not find a useful 
predator, or that they will. Seems to me that the woodpeckers would 
figure it out, if we still had woodpeckers. Flickers, for instance ...
I don't suppose they've embargoed the transport of Opuntia.
Cheers
Anne Kilmer
South Florida and Mayo, Ireland


 
 ------------------------------------------------------------ 

   For subscription and related information about LEPS-L visit:

   http://www.peabody.yale.edu/other/lepsl 
 


More information about the Leps-l mailing list