Eradication of Cactus Moth Outbreaks from Caribbean islands of Mexico

Eradication of Cactus Moth Outbreaks from Caribbean islands of Mexico The Mexican Government has officially announced that the Cactus Moth Cactoblastis cactorum, a serious threat to all prickly pear cactus species, has been eradicated from the island of Mujeres and island of Contoy, in the Mexican Caribbean, two years after the pest was first detected. This declaration was made at the 32nd annual meeting of the North American Plant Protection Organization (NAPPO), held last week in the city of Guadalajara, Mexico. Close cooperation between the Mexican Government, the U. S. Department of Agriculture, and the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear techniques in Food and Agriculture has resulted in the eradication of this invasive pest species using an integrated approach, including the area-wide application of the sterile insect technique (SIT).

Native to northern Argentina and parts of Peru and Paraguay, the Cactus Moth was detected in Florida in 1989, and since then it has rapidly expanded its range along the Gulf of Mexico. Pathways of introduction to the south-western U.S. and Mexico include both natural dispersal and commercial trade. This invasive species feeds on the pads of all six prickly pear Opuntia cactus species-including rare and endangered species-and has become a significant economic and environmental hazard to whole ecosystems based on cactus species.

Eradication of Cactus Moth Outbreaks from Caribbean islands of MexicoIn Mexico, the visionary establishment of a monitoring network allowed the timely detection of outbreaks of Cactus Moth on the island of Mujeres in August 2006, and the island of Contoy also near Cancun in early 2007, all in the Yucatan peninsula. On August 21, 2006, Mexico published an official report on the detection in island of Mujeres of this invasive species. Eradication actions were immediately carried out by the Mexican Government in cooperation with US Department of Agriculture and the Joint FAO/IAEA Division. The last finding was reported in March 2007. "According to a day-degree model by March 2008 there were 3 life cycles without Cactus Moth detections in the area. Therefore, the outbreak is considered eradicated," the Mexican Plant Health Directorate reported.

In the island of Contoy, after area-wide releases of sterile moths that were shipped from Tifton, Georgia, U.S., the control activities were stopped since no wild moths have been detected. However, surveillance will continue for another three generations to be able to officially declare this island as free from the Cactus Moth.

Technologies such as new attractants for Cactus Moth surveillance, mass rearing, sterilization and sterile moth release procedures, have allowed the successful integrated area-wide application of the SIT, leading to the eradication of this pest.

November 2008

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