Las diez plagas de Egipto y la undécima en México: la plaga del nopal

Abstract

PESTS HAVE BEEN AN IMPORTANT FACTOR IN HUMANS FOR SEVERAL CENTURIES. IN MEXICO, WE ARE FACED WITH CACTOBLASTIS CACTORUM, AN ESCAPEE OF BIOLOGICAL CONTROL IN THE CARIBBEAN AND OTHER COUNTRIES, THAT NOW IS A MENACE TO A RICH CULTURAL, ECONOMIC AND BIOLOGICAL HISTORY BY AFFECTING SPECIES OF PIRCKLY PEARS (GENUS OPUNTIA). THE ARRIVAL OF C. CACTORUM CAN ONLY MAKE US THINK ON THE CULTURAL, SOCIAL AND BIOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES OF THE INVASION, ANALOGOUS TO THE BIBLICAL PESTS, AFFECTING A RESOURCE THAT IS HIGHLY INTERMINGLED IN OUR CULTURE.