Skip to main content
ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Systematic Entomology Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #355912
Research Project: Systematics of Moths Significant to Biodiversity, Quarantine, and Control, with a Focus on Invasive Species

Location: Systematic Entomology Laboratory

Title: First report of range expansion of the cactus webworm, Loxomorpha flavidissimalis (Grote) (Pyraloidea: Crambidae) to Central Mexico and Central Texas, USA

Author
item GONZALEZ-HERMANDEZ, ALVARO - Universidad Autonoma Del Estado De Hidalgo
item LOPEZ-MARTINEZ, VICTOR - Universidad Autonoma Del Estado De Hidalgo
item Solis, M Alma
item GUILLEN-SANCHEZ, DAGOBERTO - Universidad Autonoma Del Estado De Hidalgo
item BURGOS-SOLORIO, ARMANDO - Universidad Autonoma Del Estado De Hidalgo

Submitted to: Florida Entomologist
Publication Type: Research Notes
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/6/2019
Publication Date: 9/30/2019
Citation: Gonzalez-Hermandez, A., Lopez-Martinez, V., Solis, M.A., Guillen-Sanchez, D., Burgos-Solorio, A. 2019. First report of range expansion of the cactus webworm, Loxomorpha flavidissimalis (Grote) (Pyraloidea: Crambidae) to Central Mexico and Central Texas, USA. Florida Entomologist. 102(3):638-641. 4. https://doi.org/10.1653/024.102.0329.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1653/024.102.0329

Interpretive Summary: The cactus moth was detected in Florida as an invasive species in 1989, then migrated west, and became of great concern to the Mexican government where cactus is a food product. We report the expansion of another species, the cactus webworm, from Texas and northeastern Mexico to Central Mexico. We provide a map of its current distribution. This information will be useful to both action agency identifiers and regulatory personnel in both Mexico and the United States.

Technical Abstract: Cactus pads of Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) are cultivated in Mexico for consumption. We report that Loxomorpha flavidissimalis, the cactus webworm, was recently observed in farms in Morelos and has expanded its distribution south from its previously known distribution of northern Mexico to Central Mexico. The cactus webworm represents an additional potential pest for the production of cultivated cactus in Central Mexico.