Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Cactoblastis cactorum (Berg) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) use of Opuntia host species in Argentina

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Biological Invasions Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

A central aspect in biology and ecology is to determine the combination of factors that influence the distribution of species. In the case of herbivorous insects, the distribution of herbivorous species is necessarily associated with their host plants, a pattern often referred to as “host use”. Novel interactions that arise during a biological invasion can have important effects on the dynamics of that invasion, especially if it is driven by only a subset of the genetic diversity of the invading species. This is the case of the wellknown South American cactus moth, Cactoblastis cactorum, a successfully used biological control agent of non-native Opuntia cacti in Australia and South Africa, but now threatening unique cactus diversity and agriculture in North America. We studied the patterns of host plant usage by and host plant availability for C. cactorum under field conditions in Argentina, covering the geographical range of the four C. cactorum phylogroups and the recently documented southern distribution. We also assessed female preference and larval performance under laboratory conditions. Cactoblastis cactorum showed a geographical pattern of host use in its native range that was related to host availability. Laboratory assays of female preference showed some degree of preference to oviposit on O. ficus-indica, O. leucotricha and O. quimilo, but it was not positively correlated with the performance of larvae. These findings contribute to the further comprehension of the host use dynamics of C. cactorum in the insects’ native range, and could provide useful information for assessing the risk and future spread of this insect in North America.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Anderson EF (2001) The cactus family. Timber Press, Portland

    Google Scholar 

  • Briano J, Varone L, Logarzo G, Villamil C (2012) Extended geographical distribution and host range of the cactus moth, Cactoblastis cactorum (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) in Argentina. Fla Entomol 95(1):233–237

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brooks C, Ervin G, Varone L, Logarzo G (2012) Native ecotypic variation and the role of host identity in the spread of an invasive herbivore, Cactoblastis cactorum. Ecology 93(2):402–410

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Courtney SP, Forsberg J (1988) Host use by two pierid butterflies varies with host density. Funct Ecol 2(1):67–75

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Darwin C (1859) On the origin of species by natural selection. John Murray, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Dodd AP (1940) The biological campaign against prickly-pear. Commonwealth Prickly Pear Board, Brisbane

    Google Scholar 

  • Forister ML (2004) Oviposition preference and larval performance within a diverging lineage of lycaenid butterflies. Ecol Entomol 29(3):264–272

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fox LR, Morrow PA (1981) Specialization: species property or local phenomenon? Science 211:887–893

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gandhi K, Herms DA (2010) Direct and indirect effects of alien insect herbivores on ecological processes and interactions in forests of eastern North America. Biol Inv 12:389–405

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hight SD, Carpenter JE (2009) Flight phenology of male Cactoblastis cactorum (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) at different latitudes in the southeastern United States. Fla Entomol 92(2):208–216

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hijmans RJ (2012) DIVA-GIS (version 7.5.0.0). Free mapping program, http://www.diva-gis.org/

  • Jaenike J (1978) On optimal oviposition behavior in phytophagous insects. Theor Popul Biol 14(3):350–356

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jermy T (1984) Evolution of insect/host plant relationships. Am Nat 124:609–630

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jezorek HA, Stiling PD, Carpenter JE (2010) Targets of an invasive species: oviposition preference and larval performance of Cactoblastis cactorum (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) on 14 North American opuntioid cacti. Environ Entomol 39(6):1884–1892

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson DM, Stiling PD (1996) Host specificity of Cactoblastis cactorum (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), an exotic Opuntia-feeding moth, in Florida. Environ Entomol 25:743–748

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson DM, Stiling PD (1998) Distribution and dispersal of Cactoblastis cactorum (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), an exotic Opuntia-feeding moth, in Florida. Fla Entomol 81:12–22

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kareiva P (1982) Experimental and mathematical analysis of herbivore movement: quantifying the influence of plant spacing and quality on foraging discrimination. Ecol Monogr 52(3):261–282

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kiesling R (2005) Cactaceae, Cactáceas. In: Troncoso NS, Bacigalupo NM (eds) Flora Ilustrada de Entre Ríos. Dicotiledoneas Arquiclamídeas. B: Geraniales a Umbelliflorales, vol IV, 4b. Colección Científica INTA, Buenos Aires, Argentina, pp 401–444

  • Kiesling R, Meglioli S (2003) Cactaceae, Cactáceas. In: Kiesling R (ed) Flora de San Juan, República Argentina, vol II., Dicotoledóneas Dialipétalas (Segunda parte: Oxalidáceas a Umbelíferas)Estudio Sigma, Buenos Aires, pp 161–211

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuussaari M, Singer M, Hanski I (2000) Local specialization and landscape-level influence on host use in an herbivorous insect. Ecology 81(8):2177–2187

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Logarzo G, Casalinuovo M, Piccinali R, Braun K, Hasson E (2011) Geographic host use variability and host range evolutionary dynamics in the phytophagous insect Apagomerella versicolor (Cerambycidae). Oecologia 165(2):387–402

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mafokoane LD, Zimmermann HG, Hill MP (2007) Development of Cactoblastis cactorum (Berg) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) on six North American Opuntia species. Afr Entomol 15(2):295–299

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mann J (1969) Cactus-feeding insects and mites. United States National Museum Bulletin, vol 256, Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington DC, USA

  • Marsico TD, Wallace LE, Ervin GN, Brooks CP, McClure JE, Welch ME (2011) Geographic patterns of genetic diversity from the native range of Cactoblastis cactorum (Berg) support the documented history of invasion and multiple introductions for invasive populations. Biol Invasions 13(4):857–868

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mayhew PJ (1998) Testing the preference-performance hypothesis in phytophagous insects: lessons from chrysanthemum leafminer (Diptera: Agromyzidae). Environ Entomol 27:45–52

    Google Scholar 

  • Mayhew PJ (2001) Herbivore host choice and optimal bad motherhood. Trends Ecol Evol 16(4):165–167

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McFadyen RE (1985) Larval characteristics of Cactoblastis spp. (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) and the selection of species for biological control of prickly pears (Opuntia spp.). Bull Entomol Res 75:159–168

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Myers JH, Monro J, Murray N (1981) Egg clumping, host plant selection and population regulation in Cactoblastis cactorum (Lepidoptera). Oecologia 51(1):7–13

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neu CW, Byers CB, Peek JM (1974) A technique for analysis of utilization-availability data. J Wildl Manag 38:541–545

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pettey FW (1948) The biological control of prickly pear in South Africa. Sci Bull Dep Agric Union S Afr 271:1–163

    Google Scholar 

  • Renwick JAA, Chew FS (1994) Oviposition behavoir in Lepidoptera. Annu Rev Entomol 39:377–400

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robertson HG (1987) Oviposition site selection in Cactoblastis cactorum (Lepidoptera): constraints and compromises. Oecologia 73:601–608

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scheirs J, Bruyn LD, Verhagen R (2000) Optimization of adult performance determines host choice in a grass miner. Proc R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 267(1457):2065–2069

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sih A, Bolnick DI, Luttbeg B, Orrock JL, Peacor SD, Pintor LM, Preisser E, Rehage JS, Vonesh JR (2010) Predator–prey naïveté, antipredator behavior, and the ecology of predator invasions. Oikos 119(4):610–621

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Singer MC (1983) Determinants of multiple host use by a phytophagous insect population. Evolution 37(2):389–403

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Singer MC (2000) Reducing ambiguity in describing plant–insect interactions: “preference”, “acceptability” and “electivity”. Ecol Lett 3(3):159–162

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Singer MC, Ng D, Moore RA (1991) Genetic variation in oviposition preference between butterfly populations. J Insect Behav 4(4):531–535

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Starmer WT, Aberdeen V, Lachance MA (1988) The yeast community associated with decaying Opuntia stricta (Haworth) in Florida with regard to the moth, Cactoblastis cactorum (Berg). Fla Sci 51:7–11

    Google Scholar 

  • Stefanescu C, Jubany J, Dantart J (2006) Egg–laying by the butterfly Iphiclides podalirius (Lepidoptera, Papilionidae) on alien plants: a broadening of host range or oviposition mistakes? Anim Biodiv Conserv 29(1):83–90

    Google Scholar 

  • Tate CD, Hight SD, Carpenter JE (2009) Oviposition preference of Cactoblastis cactorum (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) in caged choice experiments and the influence on risk assessment of F1 sterility. Biocontol Sci Technol 19:1–17

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomas C, Vasco D, Singer M, Ng D, White R, Hinkley D (1990) Diet divergence in two sympatric congeneric butterflies: community or species level phenomenon? Evol Ecol 4(1):62–74

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson JN (1988a) Evolutionary ecology of the relationship between oviposition preference and performance of offspring in phytophagous insects. Entomol Exp Appl 47(1):3–14

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson JN (1988b) Variation in preference and specificity in monophagous and oligophagous swallowtail butterflies. Evolution 42(1):118–128

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson JN, Pellmyr O (1991) Evolution of oviposition behavior and host preference in Lepidoptera. Annu Rev Entomol 36(1):65–89

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Nouhuys S, Singer MC, Nieminen M (2003) Spatial and temporal patterns of caterpillar performance and the suitability of two host plant species. Ecol Entomol 28:193–202

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Varone L, Manteca Acosta M, Logarzo GA, Briano JA, Hight SD, Carpenter JE (2012) Laboratory performance of Cactoblastis cactorum (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) on South and North American Opuntia species ocurring in Argentina. Fla Entomol 95(4):1163–1173

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • von Humboldt A (1805) Essai sur la Ge′ographie des Plantes. Levrault, Paris

    Google Scholar 

  • Wiklund C (1974) The concept of oligophagy and the natural habitats and host plants of Papilio machaon L. in Fennoscandia. Insect Syst Evol 5(2):151–1600

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zimmermann HG, Bloem S, Klein H (2007) Biology, history, threat, surveillance and control of the cactus moth, Cactoblastis cactorum. http://www.conabio.gob.mx/invasoras/images/4/4e/OIEABOOK5dic07.pdf

Download references

Acknowledgments

We thank Fabián Font (University of Buenos Aires) for identification of Opuntia spp., Mariana Manteca Acosta for laboratory assistance, and Travis Marsico, Gary Ervin and Chris Brooks (Mississippi State University) for providing information on cactus moth genetic analysis. We also thank two anonymous reviewers for comments and suggestions that improved the manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. FuEDEI, Fundación para el Estudio de Especies Invasivas, Bolívar 1559 (1686) Hurlingham, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Laura Varone, Guillermo A. Logarzo & Juan A. Briano

  2. Center for Biological Control, USDA-ARS-CMAVE, FAMU, Tallahassee, FL, 32308, USA

    Stephen D. Hight

  3. USDA-ARS-CPMRU, Tifton, GA, 31794, USA

    James E. Carpenter

Authors
  1. Laura Varone
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Guillermo A. Logarzo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Juan A. Briano
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Stephen D. Hight
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. James E. Carpenter
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Laura Varone.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Varone, L., Logarzo, G.A., Briano, J.A. et al. Cactoblastis cactorum (Berg) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) use of Opuntia host species in Argentina. Biol Invasions 16, 2367–2380 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-014-0670-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-014-0670-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation