Australia has had some biocontrols go awry, but plenty others were successful

Prickly pear was first introduced to Australia in an attempt to establish a cochineal dye industry. (Getty Images: Yin-Hsun Chang)

Cane toads, mosquito fish, mongoose — these are some of the images Australians may (or not) conjure at the mention of biocontrol.

To be fair, there have been some absolute cock-ups. And almost without exception, proper scientific procedure wasn't followed in their making.