Establishment of Prickly Pear Sentinel Sites for Monitoring the Spread of Cactus Moth from North Carolina to California

Cactus moth (Cactoblastis cactorum), which is native to South America, is best known as for its use as a successful biocontrol agent of invasive prickly pear in Australia. In the 1960s, Cactus Moth was introduced to the Caribbean Island of Nevis to control native prickly pear cacti. Subsequently, it spread from island to island, and was first detected in the Florida Keys in 1989. Since then, Cactus Moth has spread as far north as the Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge on Bull Island, South Carolina, and as far west as Dauphin Island, Alabama, at the mouth of Mobile Bay. Cactus Moth poses a very serious ecological threat to all 63 native flat pad prickly pear cacti (Opuntia spp.) in North America. It is also an economic threat to Mexico where prickly pear cacti are grown as a fresh vegetable and livestock feed. Cactus moth is spreading westward naturally at a rate of about 100 miles per year. However, since infected prickly pear plants were detected at a Wal-Mart Store in Pensacola, Florida, in 2002, there is great concern that Cactus Moth could be accidentally spread in infected plants from the Carolinas or the eastern Gulf Coast Region to Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, or California.

USGS BRD is cooperating with USDA APHIS and Mississippi State University to establish a National Cactus Moth Early Detection and Reporting Network. This is being accomplished by establishment of Prickly Pear Sentinel Sites (both native and ornamental species) on public and private conservation lands throughout the southern tier of states from North Carolina to California. The ultimate aim is to make sure that any new outbreaks of cactus moth are detected early and eradicated before it can become established and spread.

To date, over 50 Prickly Pear Sentinel Sites have been established in the Carolinas and in the Gulf Coast Region. USGS BRD is coordinating the Carolinas Cactus Moth Detection and Reporting Network. Sentinel Sites in the Gulf Coast Region are being coordinated by partner researchers at Mississippi State University.

'Sentinel Sites do work!' On April 5, 2005, a Prickly Pear Sentinel Site was established by USGS BRD on the Isle of Palms, near Charleston, South Carolina. On July 13, 2005, the site was reported and confirmed to be infested with Cactus Moth. The infestation for quickly eradicated with assistance from local Sea Turtle Volunteers. (See attached photos of the site before and after it became infested).

Information about the Cactus Moth issue, confirmed infestations, and sentinel sites can be found at the Cactus Moth Detection and Reporting Network website, which is being maintained by Mississippi State University (URL: http://www.gri.msstate.edu/cactus_moth).

Currently, USGS and MSU are working with a number of federal land management agencies, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the USDA Forest Service, to expand the National Cactus Moth Early Detection and Reporting Network by establishing at least two sentinel sites, per agency, per state, for a total of about 64 additional sites.

	Contact: Randy G. Westbrooks USGS BRD, National Wetlands Research Center 233 Border Belt Drive Whiteville, NC 28472 rwestbrooks@usgs.gov Website: Cactus Moth Detection and Reporting Network