Establishment of the Invasive Cactus Moth, Cactoblastis cactorum (Berg) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) in Pakistan: A Potential Threat to Cultivated, Ornamental and Wild Opuntia spp. (Cactaceae)

Authors

Muhammad Ather Rafi, National Insect Museum, Pakistan
Harry Pavulaan, International Lepidoptera SurveyFollow
Muhammad Islam, Rangeland Research Institute, Pakistan
Muhammad Ashfaq, National Insect Museum, Pakistan
Haseeb Kamran, University of Education, Punjab, Pakistan
Walija Fayaz, University of Agriculture, Peshawar, Pakistan
Gul Naz Parveen, Women University Swabi
Riffat Sultana, University of Sindh, Jamshoro
Ahmad Zia, National Insect Museum, Pakistan
Waqar Ahmed, University of Swabi
Qudrat Ullah, University of Peshawar
Muhammad Qasim, Koshar University Murree
Falak Naz, Pakistan Agricultural Research Council
Nazeer Ahmed, University of Swabi
Muhammad Tariq Khan, Department of Plant Protection, Karachi
Muhammad Saeed, University of Swabi
Jalal Hayat Khan, Rangeland Research Institute, Pakistan

Date of this Version

12-20-2022

Document Type

Article

Citation

The Taxonomic Report of the International Lepidoptera Survey (December 20, 2022) 10(10), 33 pages

Also available at the TTR webite, Internet Archive, Biodiversity Heritage Library, Zobodate, and Zenodo

Comments

Copyright 2022, the authors. Open access material

License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-SA-NC 4.0 International)

Abstract

Subsequent to the significant accomplishment of biological control of Opuntia weeds in Australia, the larvae of the cactus moth, Cactoblastis cactorum (native to parts of South America), were released in many countries for the biological control of native Opuntia species (Simmonds and Bennett, 1966). Inauspiciously, larvae were also released in the Caribbean, where the moth spread naturally and by the human support all over the region (García-Turudi et al., 1971). Its enhanced dissemination rate and the biological potential for invasiveness, suggests that the cactus moth is likely to become an invasive pest of Opuntia in the Southeast United States, Mexico, and southwestern America. Its damage is restricted mainly to the plants of genus Opuntia (plants with the characteristic of flat prickly pear pads of the former genus Platyopuntia, now considered to be the part of the genus Opuntia). In this region, plants of this genus provide valuable resources for humans, livestock, and wildlife such as food, medicine, and emergency fodder, while in the arid and semi-arid regions, the plants play key roles in ecosystem processes and soil conservation. At present, the cactus moth has developed into a severe threat to the high diversity of prickly pear cacti, all over the world for both the native and cultivated species of Opuntia (IAEA, 2002).