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Moth Threatens Arizona Prickly Pears04-24-07 | News

Moth Threatens Arizona Prickly Pears

It travels 100 miles a year, devouring plenty of prickly pears in it place. It is the winged scourge, moving steadily toward Arizona with the potential to destroy the common cactus found everywhere in the state. The winged scourge, also known as the cactus moth, also known as the Cactoblastic cactorum, has not actually been found in Arizona, but its trail of dead prickly pears is heading toward that direction. The moth, in its caterpillar form, bores into the cactus as it feeds, transforming the plant into a ?EUR??,,????'??gooey, oozing mess.?EUR??,,????'??

Already the winged scourge has been verified in Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, and Mexico. Historically, the South-American native was responsible for completely wiping out the prickly pear cactus in Australia. In Arizona, the prickly pear is a staple of the state?EUR??,,????'???s ecology and landscaping, and a valuable cash crop that fuels a $100 million industry in Mexico.

Arizona officials are alarmed, looking for different options to slow the insect?EUR??,,????'???s arrival or at best, bar the pest from entering the state at all. One option includes the USDA?EUR??,,????'???s Agriculture Research Service raising tens of thousands of sterile moths a day in order to head off the threat. The USDA is also holding an international conference in the state in May to discuss further options.

?EUR??,,????'??This is one of the pests at the top of our list that we are making sure never comes into Arizona,?EUR??,,????'?? said Ed Hermmes, public information officer at the Arizona Department of Agriculture. ?EUR??,,????'??The [prickly pear] would be devastated.?EUR??,,????'??

Source: The Tucson Citizen