CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE COUNTY AGRICULTURAL COMMISSIONER’S OFFICE

~OFFICIAL INVITATION~

INFORMATIONAL MEETING ON A NEW PEST IN ORANGE COUNTY –
THE RED PALM WEEVIL (Rhynchophorus ferrugineus)

Meeting – Friday, November 05, 2010
10:00 AM – 12:00 PM

City Council Chambers
505 Forest Avenue
Laguna Beach, CA

The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), the Orange County Agricultural Commissioner, the United States Department of Agriculture, and the University of California Cooperative Extension are hosting the first of several informational meetings. The goal of this meeting is to inform local government officials, arborists, public works, landscapers, and pest control advisors about the current RPW situation including properly identifying the pest and its feeding damage. Future meetings will target other industry members and the public.

Worldwide, the Red Palm Weevil (Rhynchophorus ferrugineus) is considered the most destructive pest of palms. A red palm weevil (RPW) discovery on a residential plant in Laguna Beach is the first time this beetle has been detected in the United States. The presence of the red palm weevil in California represents a serious threat to landscape palms as well as to the date palm industry.

Because you are an important member of California’s pest surveillance system, your participation in this meeting is needed to assist us in responding to this harmful, invasive pest before it becomes established. If you cannot attend this important meeting and require additional information, please contact our toll-free PEST HOTLINE at (800) 491-1899 or visit our red palm weevil website at: www.cdfa.ca.gov/phpps/rpw

(Note: Free Parking is available at the corner of Laguna Canyon Road and Forest Avenue, located one block away from the City Council Chambers)

Meeting Agenda: 

• Welcome – Rick LeFeuvre or designee (Orange County Agricultural Commissioner) 
• Red Palm Weevil Biology and Identification – Nick Nisson, Orange County Entomologist 
• Trapping and Surveillance – John Hooper or designee (CDFA) 
• Potential Regulatory Impacts – Nawal Sharma or designee (CDFA) 
• What you can do to Help – Dr. John Kabashima (UCCE) 
• Public Outreach Campaign – CDFA Public Information Officer 
• Question and Answer Session – CDFA will moderate 

(Note: Special thanks to the City of Laguna Beach for providing free parking!)

For More Details Please Contact:
John Kabashima, M.B.A., Ph.D.
County Director/Environmental Horticulture Advisor
University of California Cooperative Extension, Orange County
1045 Arlington Dr.
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Ph: 714-708-1611
Fax:  714-708-2754
Email:  jnkabashima@ucdavis.edu