In the 1930s, Gravesend was the site of a research station breeding Cactoblastis moths later released to eradicate a devastating prickly pear infestation.
Detection of the cactus-eating moth Cactoblastis cactorum in Mexico in 2006 caused anxiety among the country's phytosanitary authorities, as this insect can be potentially devastating for the cactus industry.
This plant, like other Opuntia species, is attacked by cactus moth.
In Australia it has been the subject of one of the first really effective biological control exercises using the moth Cactoblastis cactorum.
The moth Cactoblastis cactorum from South America, whose larvae eat prickly pear, was introduced in 1925 and almost wiped out the population.
Prickly Pear infestation in the early 1900s had a devastating effect on the area that was only alleviated by the introduction of the cactoblastis moth.