Biology:Prickly pears in Australia
Prickly pears (genus Opuntia) include a number of plant species that were introduced and have become invasive in Australia .
Prickly pears (mostly Opuntia stricta) were imported into Australia in the First Fleet as hosts of cochineal insects, used in the dye industry.[1] Many of these, especially the tiger pear, quickly became widespread invasive species, rendering 40,000 km2 (15,000 sq mi) of farming land unproductive.[2] The moth Cactoblastis cactorum from Argentina , whose larvae eat prickly pear, was introduced in 1925 and almost wiped out the prickly pear. This case is often cited as an example of successful biological pest control.[3][4]
A monument to Cactoblastis cactorum was erected in Dalby, Queensland, commemorating the eradication of the prickly pear in the region. The Cactoblastis Memorial Hall in Boonarga, Queensland, also commemorates the eradication.[5]
Species
These Opuntia species are recorded as naturalised in Australia:[6]
- Opuntia aurantiaca
- Opuntia dejecta
- Opuntia dillenii
- Opuntia elata
- Opuntia elatior
- Opuntia engelmannii
- Opuntia ficus-indica
- Opuntia humifusa
- Opuntia leucotricha
- Opuntia microdasys
- Opuntia monacantha
- Opuntia polyacantha
- Opuntia puberula
- Opuntia robusta
- Opuntia schickendantzii
- Opuntia sp. Schrank
- Opuntia streptacantha
- Opuntia stricta
- Opuntia sulphurea
- Opuntia tomentosa
See also
- Invasive species in Australia
- Conservation in Australia
- Agriculture in Australia
References
- ↑ "The Prickly Pear Story". Queensland Government. July 2016. https://www.daf.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0014/55301/IPA-Prickly-Pear-Story-PP62.pdf.
- ↑ "Reclaiming a Lost Province—1". The Courier-mail (Queensland, Australia) (966): p. 22. 3 October 1936. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article37011438. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
- ↑ J. H. Hoffmanna, V. C. Morana and D. A. Zellerb (May 1998). "Evaluation ofCactoblastis cactorum(Lepidoptera: Phycitidae) as a Biological Control Agent of Opuntia stricta (Cactaceae) in the Kruger National Park, South Africa". Biological Control 12 (1): 20–24. doi:10.1006/bcon.1998.0608.
- ↑ "National Archives of Australia on Instagram: "Let’s try tanks and flamethrowers! Spreading at the rate of a million acres a year by 1919, the prickly pear was out of control. Our latest blog by Penny O’Hara for #NationalScienceWeek reveals the peculiar ways Australians attempted to stop this thorny pest, before discovering a scientific breakthrough with an Argentinean moth. Link in bio. Image: 1920s map illustrating the scale of prickly pear infestation. NAA: B5626, 306 #StoriesFromTheArchives"" (in en). https://www.instagram.com/p/ChbKTnGO9qc/.
- ↑ "Cactoblastis Memorial Hall (entry 601273)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. https://environment.ehp.qld.gov.au/heritage-register/detail/?id=601273.
- ↑ "Opuntia". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government, Canberra. http://www.anbg.gov.au/cgi-bin/apni?TAXON_NAME=Opuntia. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
External links
- Prickly Pear photograph album 1926-1933 digitised and held by State Library of Queensland
- Prickly pears in Australia at the Australian Weeds Committee
- History of prickly pear in Australia - from a New South Wales' perspective
- A prickly problem : Dr Jean White-Haney and the prickly pear, State Library of Queensland
- Prickly-Pear Experimental Station, Dulacca: report from 1st May, 1915, to 30th June, 1916 / by Jean White-Haney, State Library of Queensland
- Prickly-Pear Experimental Station, Dulacca: reports up to 30th April, 1914 / by Jean White, State Library of Queensland
- Prickly-Pear Experimental Station, Dulacca: report from 1st May, 1914, to 30th April, 1915 / Jean White-Haney, State Library of Queensland
- Prickly Pear Control Oral History, State Library of Queensland
- Henderson Photograph Album 1922-1930, State Library of Queensland
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