Commonwealth Prickly Pear Board

Formed in 1920 by agreement between the Commonwealth, Queensland and New South Wales governments to investigate the biological control of prickly pear, its costs shared among the three governments. It had no Commonwealth predecessor.

1. 1925The board introduced the moth Cactoblastis cactorum from Argentina; its larvae destroyed most of the dense prickly pear stands by the early 1930s.

Dissolved in 1939 after biological control had largely destroyed the dense prickly pear infestations; remaining control work was left to the state authorities.

• Surveys of the natural enemies of prickly pear in the Americas
• Quarantine testing of insect control agents
• Mass rearing and release of Cactoblastis cactorum and other agents
• Research on prickly pear ecology and control

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Some dates or links for this organisation are uncertain. Corrections are welcome.