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 Editorials | Environmental | December 2006 
Mexico Battles to Save Cacti from Moths
 Mark Stevenson - Associated Press
| | Never-ending battle: A cactus-devouring moth from South America is threatening the prickly pear cacti that serve as both food and national symbol for Mexicans. Experts say millions of acres of semiarid land could be turned into desert if the advance of the hungry insects is not stopped. (Israel Leal/AP) |
A tale of nature's revenge, stretching halfway around the world, has come full circle in a battle of cactus, moth and man.
At stake is the survival of a Mexican national symbol.
The dull-colored cactus moth that reached Mexican territory this summer threatens to devastate the country's nopals, the prickly pear plant that graces the country's flag and is deeply interwoven in its history, culture and diet.
The moth didn't migrate here from its native South America; mankind carried it - to Australia, South Africa and finally the Caribbean. That makes it a cautionary tale about the dangers of transplanting species, even in the good cause of "bio-control" - unleashing one animal or plant to fight another rather than using pesticides.
"It's not the moth that's to blame, but rather people," says Jose Sarukhan, the head of Mexico's National Council on Biodiversity, talking about the first sighting of Cactoblastis cactorium on Isla Mujeres, an island off Cancun, this summer.
"Imagine what would happen if this plague reaches here and devours all the nopals in a country that's (their) center of origin," he said.
Experts say millions of acres of semiarid Mexican land could become total desert without its approximately 100 native species of nopals, or Opuntia, about half the world's total. Birds and reptiles that use them for nesting, protection or food also would suffer.
The country faces "extreme . . . incalculable damage" if the moth jumps the 5-mile strait between Isla Mujeres and the mainland, said Jorge Hernandez, the director of Mexico's plant safety agency, which is hacking and burning affected cacti on the tiny island.
He said his agency has reduced the island infestation by about 98 percent and may lick it within a couple of months, but he knows the victory may not survive the next strong wind that carries fresh moths to Mexican shores.
Mexico has more species of nopal cactus than anywhere else, and the plant has been used here for thousands of years for everything from fences and construction to food and medicine.
"Nopals are part of Mexico's national identity," said Vicente Calva, president of the nopal producers' council.
Mexican officials had feared an invasion ever since the moths turned up in Florida in 1989 and began eating their way toward the U.S. southwest, laying larvae that eat voraciously into cactus pads.
They thought the moth was most likely to enter Mexico from U.S. border states, and are helping fund U.S. efforts to stop the advance.
Now both countries face what may be a never-ending battle. U.S. researchers are releasing sterile male moths to reduce the population, while in Mexico, hundreds of workers comb the mainland for wind-blown moths.
"This is something that will continue, with no end in sight," said Hernandez of the plant safety agency. |
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