Written by: Mark Hoddle Department of Entomology, UC Riverside Email: mark.hoddle@ucr.edu More Research: UCR Biocontrol Website The red palm weevil (RPW), Rhynchophorus ferrugineus, is a highly invasive and extremely damaging pests of palms, especially ornamental Canary Islands date palms ( Phoenix canariensis) (CIDP’s), and date palms ( Phoenix dactylifera) that produce fruit for human consumption...

Fig. 1. Rhynchophorus vulneratus, the palm weevil discovered in Laguna Beach, California in October 2012. Fig. 2. Red palm weevil, Rhynchophorus ferrugineus, adult, larva (white grub), and pupa extracted from a Canary Islands date palm in France. Fig. 3. Dead Canary Islands date palm killed by R. vulneratus in Laguna Beach. Fig. 4. Red palm...