The cactus moth is a proven killer. Prickly pear planted in Australia as a natural cattle fence grew out of control and took over 16 million acres, but it was virtually wiped out after the moth ...

She cut one cactus open and inside saw red-orange caterpillars with black spots, the larvae of Cactoblastis cactorum, commonly known as the cactus moth.

THIBODAUX, La. - A South American moth that eats prickly pear cactus has moved into Louisiana, and federal biologists say it must be stopped before it reaches Texas. Cactus moths were known to be ...

Five infected prickly pear pads collected at Mad Island produced almost 200 moth pupae, according to Gilbert. Then, a little over a week ago, roughly 50 tiny caterpillars hatched and bored into ...

The moths choose big, healthy cactuses in which to lay eggs, their caterpillars burrowing into the pads to eat and littering the ground with cactus fragments. “They’re messy eaters ...