Cactoblastis cactorum

TaxID: 59379

Basic Information

Cactoblastis cactorum

Cactus Moth, Cactus moth

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, predators 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.

from Wikipedia

Taxonomic Information

Metazoa

Arthropoda

Insecta

Lepidoptera

Pyralidae

Cactoblastis

cactorum

unclassified

Photos (5 photos)

Cactoblastis cactorum
c
(c) Johan Heyns@BY-NC
Cactoblastis cactorum
c
(c) kaitlyncav@BY-NC
Cactoblastis cactorum
c
(c) Edward Perry IV@BY-NC
Cactoblastis cactorum
c
(c) abigailmakim@BY-NC
Cactoblastis cactorum
c
(c) Laura Gaudette@BY

Morphological Features

No morphological description available.

Host Plants (4 host plants)

Data sources: EPPO Global Database and relevant literature.

Quarantine Status (6 records)

Data sources: IPPC website and national quarantine websites; verified by human review.

Country Status Year Added
Chile Quarantine pests 2019
Guatemala Absent —
Republic of Korea Quarantine pests —
Mexico Quarantine pests 2018
Peru Absent —
United States of America Quarantine pests 1989

Distribution (32 countries)

Data Sources: EPPO Global Database and GBIF.

29
Present
3
Absent
0
Unknown/Other
Country Status State
Antigua and Barbuda Present —
Netherlands Antilles Present —
Argentina Present —
Australia Present
Bahamas Present —
Brazil Present —
Botswana Present —
Cuba Present —
Cayman Islands Present —
Dominican Republic Present —
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Distribution Map (Latitude and longitude coordinates sourced from GBIF.)

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Genomes (1 records)

Data source: NCBI.

Assembly Accession Assembly Level Genome Size(Mb) Contig N50(Kb) Scaffold N50(Kb) BUSCO% Downloads Actions
GCA_020352625.1 Scaffold 411 2 3 -

Transcriptomes (3 records)

Data source: NCBI.

Run ID Tissue Developmental Stage Sex Read Count Location Actions
SRR25083184 whole larvae body - - 21559768 Argentina
SRR25083183 whole larvae body - - 21726913 Argentina
SRR25083182 whole larvae body - - 22401474 Argentina

DNA Barcodes (0 records)

View all

Data source: BOLD.

No DNA barcode records available.

Literature