The ravages of the Agave beetle.

This is horrible plaque and we have very little defence against it. 

The beetle bores into the base of the Agave Cactus, lays eggs and then the eggs hatch into larvae which consume the centre of the Cactus over a period as long as a year, or maybe more, depending on the size of the Cactus. 

I fear that we have infection throughout the valley, and, on the plus side, we have an Agave nursery for replacements. 

We tried to kill the larvae with jabon sulphatico, sulphur soap, It does not work.