Cactoblastis cactorum
| Cactoblastis cactorum | |
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| Female moth | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Pyralidae |
| Genus: | Cactoblastis |
| Species: | C. cactorum |
| Binomial name | |
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Cactoblastis cactorum (Berg, 1885) |
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| Synonyms | |
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Cactoblastis cactorum, the cactus moth, South American cactus moth or nopal moth, is native to Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and southern Brazil. It is one of five species in the genus Cactoblastis that inhabit South America, where many parasitoids and pathogens control the expansion of the moths' population. This species has been introduced into many areas outside its natural range, including Australia, the Caribbean, and South Africa. In some locations, it has spread uncontrollably and was consequently classified an invasive species. However, in other places such as Australia, it has gained favor for its role in the biological control of cacti from the genus Opuntia, such as prickly pear.
In South America, Cactoblastis cactorum has many natural predators, including ants and New World monkeys. Ants, the moths' main predators, consume its larvae. New World monkeys dig the larvae and pupae out from the flattened leaf-like stems, or "", of the cacti. The relationship between Cactoblastis cactorum and Opuntia cactus species is parasitic: the moth feeds on the host cactus. Recent work in South America has identified four genetically-structured ecotypes of C. cactorum that infest different hosts and possess different larval morphology. The mechanism driving this isolation and pattern of host-association in the field remains unexplored.
Adults of Cactoblastis cactorum are nondescript brownish-gray moths with long legs and long antennae. The moth can be identified only by a microscopic examination of dissected male genitalia. They generally appear as typical Pyralidae, with the pronounced labial palps of the female, thus the name "snout moths".
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