Current and Potential Distribution of the Cactus Weevil,Cactophagus spinolae(Gyllenhal) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), in Mexico

Actual and Potential Distribution of Five Regulated Avocado Pests Across Mexico, Using the Maximum Entropy Algorithm

“…The distribution of species calculated herein coincides with a typical Mexican Transition Zone species (Halffter 1974) and with a Neotropical dispersal pattern (Morrone 2015). The Mexican Transition Zone is considered by Morrone (2014b) as an area of natural endemism for Curculionoidea, where agricultural pests can coevolve with their host (López-Martínez et al 2016a). It seems that the Mexican Plateau acts as a natural barrier reducing the dispersion of these species to the Nearctic region.…”

Damage in Cactaceae, their geographic distribution and new evidences

“…This hemipteran, used as a biological control in Africa against some species of Opuntia, became a dangerous pest of wild cacti in the Caribbean region (Zimmermann et al 2005); at the present, it has also been reported as a pest of different wild and cultivated Opuntia species in the southeastern United States, and Mexico (Zimmermann et al 2005). Cactophagus spinolae, which had been originally reported only in Opuntia species in the central region of Mexico, now appears in new host plants (Ramírez-Delgadillo et al 2011, Bravo-Avilez et al 2014, López-Martínez et al 2016 and its populations could increase by changes in environmental conditions due to human disturbance (habitat loss and conversion to intensive agriculture and urbanization, use of agrochemicals, deforestation) in the same region, as it has been annotated by Sánchez-Bayo & Wyckhuys (2019). It can be expected that this herbivore would be present in the rest of the columnar cacti that exhibit the same type of damage by rotting.…”

“…Two genus of the tribe Hylocereeae has been studied for southern Mexico and Brazil, Selenicereus (= Hylocereus) and Acanthocereus. Herbivory by insects (larvae and adults) of Cactophagus, Ozamia, Narnia, Euphoria, nematodes like Helicotylenchus, Meloidogyne, Dorylaimus, Tylenchus, Aphelenchus and Pratylenchus, and unidentified bacteria that promote soft rot in stems has been reported (Valencia-Botín et al 2003, Ramírez-Delgadillo 2011, Guzmán-Piedrahita et al 2012, López-Martínez et al 2016. There is a report damage by the nematodes: Meloidogyne, Helicotylenchus, Tylenchorhynchus, Trichodorus, and Hemicycliophora (Rincon et al 1989).…”

Emergent and Possible Invasive Pest Species of Weevils in Mexico

“…The species is considered the principal pest of prickly pear, Opuntia spp. (Cactaceae), in Central Mexico, and has a large number of reported hosts in the Transmexican Volcanic Belt (López-Martínez et al 2016). The weevil was introduced as a natural enemy of Opuntia spp.…”