Prickly pear before the Cactoblastis cactorum moth introduction, Chinchilla, Queensland

Prickly pear was first brought to Australia by the colonists of the First Fleet in 1788. Settlers used these prickly pear species for hedges, in their gardens and as food during droughts. But, by the 1880s, prickly pear was infesting farmland so badly that farmers began abandoning their land.

Cactoblastis cactorum moths were introduced into Australia in 1926 to help control prickly pear.