Monday, October 9, 2017

Dactylopius Coccus



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On the sidebar of my blog, there's a photo of a cactus prickle pear. It's one of my very favorite fruits. I like everything about it (including its derivates of juice and jelly, and even its thick, semi-thorny outer jacket),  except... its price at our local supermarket. Not cheap.


thorny outside, soft and sweet with many little seeds inside *

Anyhow, recently I've read some news about the prickle pear. The good news is that there are some new species of it that are going to be proclaimed the Superfood of the future years. Not really surprising; this soft, sweet  fruit is packed with lots of nutrients and health benefits. 

The bad news is that in the meantime it's getting damaged by an insect ,Dactylopius coccus, which lives on cacti; this bug could lead to massive extermination of the cacti bushes that produce the fruit. It's already happening in northern Ethiopia.


cactus shrub *

The Dactylopius is rather an economically important parasite. The dried bodies of its females were, and still are a source of the red dye used in the textile industry (especially in South America). In some cases, certain species of it can also help fighting pest infestations.

The conventional, manual measures taken against Dactylopius attack on cactus , are effective only in small - scale cultivations. In larger scale cultivations, alternative, biological warfare ( done by bio insecticides) is needed.

In Mexico, which is the largest producer of prickly pears in the world, they've been using for some time (quite successfully) certain bugs that attack the specific attacker of the cacti shrubs . As far as I know, Israel was authorised by the proper authority to import from Mexico, at least two of these  'attack the attacker ' bugs.

They say there are no winners in war. Hopefully, in this kind of war, the cacti bushes and their fruit will win the battle.There's too much at stake here. In various parts of the world , in  Africa and South America - the prickle pear is essential food and provides basic remedies to several local health issues.


* web images



34 comments:

  1. Looks delicious. I've never tried it, but you make the prickly pear look wonderful. We have many Mexican restaurants where it is probably served. I'll look for it.

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  2. Could be mexican restaurants include it in their menu, especially as dessert.
    I buy it on the market or at the supermarket and pay whatever it costs as I like its taste. Some say the seeds cause them constipation. To my mind, this might happen only if the person eats a lot of prickle pears per day.

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  3. I've never seen it for sale in England, but you do make it sound very tempting. Hope they win the bug war and that it becomes more widely available over here.

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    1. The outer skin is quite unappealing to people, so many skip the fruit.I visited Heraklion (Crete), and they make some wonderful jam out of it.The fruit itself was quite cheap there, at the central market.I liked it how the vendor elegantly used Ikea thongs to grab it without getting hurt by thorns.

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  4. Duta, I have never tried it and hope to before it is gone. I wonder how difficult is it to grow indoors.

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    1. You should try it; it's delicious.
      I suppose you can get all the info you want by performing a Google search.

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  5. Duta, this does look delicious! I have never tried this. Thank you so much for sharing.

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    1. It also tastes delicious; at least, that's what I believe.If you find it at your local market, buy some and try to see whether you like it or not.

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  6. I like them, tried a few times in Spain

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  7. Wow I never heard of the cactus prickly pear! It sounds good. I hope they can help stop the bugs

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    1. Well, you've heard it now; better late than never. It is a good fruit. Hopefully it will survive the damaging bug.

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  8. I'm sure you did, Ola. Personally, I prefer the yellow-green version to the red-dark purple ones.

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  9. Well I always get nervous when insects and plants are brought in by the government to "take care of another insect or plant." In the states that has proven to be a bigger problem than the original problem in many instances. We have an Emerald Ash Borer which is a beetle that sucks the life out of all ash trees. It's a huge problem. And no solutions yet. You'll have to keep us posted how this goes.

    Cindy

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    1. You may be right. I'm also suspicious of insects fighting other insects. I incidentally came upon the article with the news that our agricultural authority was given permission to import bugs from Mexico to destroy the Dactylopius. Well, I hope it will be highly effective.

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  10. I did not know this about the prickle pear fruit. I've seen it made into jelly here in AZ. Interesting how the war on this fruit is battled. I feel smarter.

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    1. I suppose Arizona with its dry desert climate has a lot of this stuff growing. And probably the jelly is as popular as the fruit.

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  11. How interesting! I might have heard of this, but perhaps not. Sigh.
    Thanks for your comment. Hubby doesn't like turkey, but I do, so we have it!!!! He loves mashed potatoes, so we had that for him!!!

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    1. Canada doesn't have the right climate for the cactus, but maybe the fruit is imported like many other things.

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  12. I love fruit but have never tried this one. I hope the Dactylopius can be successfully conquered in the future. The cactus shrub you showed looks similar to the one in our garden only ours has white flowers I think. Maybe it is too cold here to grow fruit

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    1. As far as I know, it does grow in the southern hemisphere, especially in Australia. Check it out; maybe it can flourish in your garden.

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  13. This was one my of dad's favorite fruits, although I don't believe he disliked any fruit! He grew up eating these in Mexico where they are called Tuna. I purchased a couple a few years ago and unfortunately, I am not a fan of them. But they are big in the Mexican culture, alongside mangos and avocados.

    Hopefully they will find a way to eradicate those pesky bugs DUTA so you won't have to pay so much for them.

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    1. Strange they should call it Tuna like the name of the famous fish!

      If you ignore the thick outer skin, the fruit itself is small and its taste moderately sweet, unlike mango which is big ,very sweet and juicy. Some like the prickle pear chilled; I don't mind; I like it as is.

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  14. Interesting! I have never tried this fruit either, but sounds like it is a precious food in areas where cactus are grown. It looks very juicy, and I must admit I would never have imagined such a juicy and delicious fruit in a cactus!! Very wonderful, and I hope it is saved from the damaging bug!! Have a nice day and week to you!

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    1. Indeed. Good point, Shayndel. It's hard to imagine that a thorny, desert plant such as the cactus can yield such a delicious fruit. But it's the truth. Nature has interesting surprises for us.

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  15. I've not seen a prickly pear in years. I think they've just about been totally eradicated here in this country because they'd become a pest, from memory...destroying natural growth.

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    1. Sorry to hear that, Lee. I hope they never give up on this fruit and find proper ways to make it survive and flourish.

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  16. Duta, it must be delicious! And the flower is gorgeous! I've never tried it but must look for it now. I remember seeing them in Mexico and wish I would've tried one. Here's hoping the bug battle is won!

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    1. It is. Moreover, it has a fairly good shelf life; it lasts about a week even at room temperature.

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  17. Holy Cow! Duta, I never knew people ate those. I was raised in Hou. Texas, So it's fall here and beautiful, my Daughter went back to Florida. Just had eye surgery, volunteering at a soup kitchen 2 days a week have a new dog , That's about it here in sunny Maine. yvonne

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    1. Yes, they do and they love it; the only problem is the price.
      Glad to hear from you. Hope all's well with your eyes. Enjoy your volunteering and your new dog!

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  18. I've never seen the prickle pear, Duta. You know, the pear used to by my favorite fruit when I was a kid, and didn't get to eat them that much because they were a bit more expensive than the regular fruits. That's too bad that it's getting damaged by the insect you mention here. It sounds like a fruit that goes way back in time. I wish I could try it. Interesting post, Duta.

    ~Sheri

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    1. Well, yes, it's not a regular pear, it's the pear that grows on the cactus bush. I guess in the USA, it grows in Arizona where there are desert conditions suitable to the survival of the cacti.

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  19. This looks like Star Trek fruit! :)

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  20. Hello Duta, it was very interesting to read your post about the prickly pear and your research was appreciated too.
    Co-incidentally, a week back we were visiting relatives who were thrilled to have received a cutting of the pear which is now growing happily in their backyard. The fruit is most certainly considered a delicacy.
    I'm in and out of blogland for various reasons but always manage to catch up with you eventually :D)

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