Good For Australia, Bad For Mexico

Cactoblastis cactorum:

A non-native moth whose larvae threaten to decimate Mexico's emblematic flat-leafed cactus has invaded the mainland for the first time, experts said Wednesday, an event that authorities have feared for decades.

Lab reports indicated that at least one moth trapped in the resort city of Cancun since January is a South American "nopal moth," a species detected last year off the coast on Isla Mujeres, said Hector Sanchez, Mexico's director of plant safety.

... Known as Cactoblastis Cactorum and native to Argentina, the moth was exported to Australia, South Africa and islands throughout the Caribbean starting in the 1920s to eradicate cacti that occupied valuable farm land.

But in countries like Mexico - where flat-leafed Opuntia cactuses known as "nopales" are a food source, an important part of the ecosystem and a national emblem - the moth poses a major threat.

... The moths - whose larvae eat away the cacti's insides - also appeared in the United States in 1989. They advanced into Florida, but scientists have managed to halt the moths' expansion near Mobile, Alabama.

... As in the United States, where experts are battling the moth by releasing sterile males and removing infected plants, Mexico could be facing a decades-long fight to keep the moth away from the vast plains of cactus in central Mexico and the U.S. Southwest.