What insects do people eat? Red palm weevil (Rhynchophorus ferrugineus) Palm larvae.
In September 2014, on the territory of Sochi, the Canary date, imported in 2013 from Italy, was discovered red palm weevil Rhynchophorus ferrugineus Olive . (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) is a dangerous quarantine phytophage that is a pest of palm trees (according to the literature, both sugar cane and bananas, and in this regard is a dangerous agricultural pest in countries cultivating these crops).
Natural range– tropical regions of Southeast Asia: the islands of Polynesia, Vietnam, New Guinea, Indonesia, Cambodia, etc.
In the 1980-90s. the species has spread to the Middle East and northern Africa. Due to the construction boom and active landscaping in 2005. Rhynchophorusferrugineus was brought to Spain, Italy, French Corsica, Cyprus, noted in Israel, and in 2009-2010. was discovered in Mexico, the USA and Japan - o. Curacao. Since 2007, the European Union has adopted restrictions on the import of palm trees due to the invasion of this phytophage with introduced plant material.
The invasion of this phytophage is exclusively anthropogenic in nature– as a result of the export of planting material, plant and fruit products. I must say that the view Rhynchophorus ferrugineus due to morphological characteristics and evolutionary genetic factors, it has a weak flight ability, can settle within a radius not exceeding 5 km, and leads a hidden lifestyle. It is also necessary to note the fact that the species is characterized by diapause in the adult phase.
The main signs by which you can determine damage by the red palm weevil:
Drying of the central rosette in the palm tree, change in leaf color;
The leaves droop, the crown of the palm tree has a roof-like appearance;
The presence of flight holes in palm trunks measuring up to 3 cm in diameter;
Breaking off palm trunks;
Detection of pest larvae, cocoons, and beetles inside trunks.
Bug The red palm weevil is one of the largest representatives of the family - body length 35-50 mm. The body of the beetles is oblong, slightly flattened on top, the elytra are hard, from light ocher to rusty brown in color with dark spots on the back. Sexual dimorphism is poorly developed: females are somewhat larger than males, with a longer rostrum and more convex elytra, and males have a longitudinal “mane” of red hairs on the upper side of the rostrum. The head of weevils is elongated into a rostrum, the main purpose of which is to gnaw a channel in plants and wood for feeding and pushing laid eggs into this channel.
Larva The red palm weevil is large, up to 5 cm, legless, C-shaped, whitish-cream in color with a brown head, consisting of a head shield with powerful gnawing mandibles. Interesting fact: Large, fleshy larvae of palm weevils are eaten by local populations in Africa and Southeast Asia.
Cocoon up to 5 cm long, made of palm fibers, brown in color, found, as a rule, in the petioles of palm leaves. The pupae of weevils are shaped like beetles with weakly developed rudiments of wings, legs and rostrum.
Red palm weevil Rhynchophorus ferrugineus belongs to monovoltine species, that is, it has one generation per year. Life cycle univoltine insects, as a rule, coincides with the annual development cycle of feeding plants, however, diapausing individuals can increase the duration to two years or more. The egg phase lasts up to 7 days, the larvae – 3-4 months, the pupae – 14-21 days. One female lays an average of 150-180 eggs (maximum 350) on the top of palm trees as close to the growth point as possible. ( It should be remembered that the growth point of the palm tree is approximately 50 cm below the visible end of the trunk!!! ) The hatched larvae penetrate inside the trunk and feed on plant tissue there, almost completely destroying the core and destroying the growing point of the palm tree. The damage is almost invisible until the palm tree dies.
Control measures for red palm weevil:
Administrative: limiting the import of palm planting material from European nurseries and careful phytosanitary control of newly imported plants.
Mechanical: collection and destruction of all stages of the pest (burning). Destruction of the affected plant.
From chemicals during the growing season from March to December at air temperatures above +17 0 C, it is necessary to treat palm trees with insecticides based on imidacloprid (confidor, golden spark, commander) at the rate of 40 ml per 10 liters of water or based on chlorpyrifos (dursban, sairen) at the rate 80 ml per 10 liters of water. Treatment is carried out at the rate of 10 liters of working fluid per plant.
Palm trees are an integral element of the gardening landscapes of the city of Sochi. Currently, the red palm weevil has only been found in a few places, on palms imported from nurseries in southern Italy. The weevil was not found on old palm trees growing in Sochi parks.
However, the pest can settle in and lead to the death of not only the Canarian date, but also other types of palm trees: bud (Chinese fan palm), Hamerops (European fan palm), Washingtonia, butia, jubaea, sabal and others.
Karpun Natalya Nikolaevna – deputy. Director for Science, Ph.D. biol. Sciences, Associate Professor.
The red palm weevil (Rhynchophorus ferrugineus) destroys date palms like locusts.
An adult red weevil reaches 2.5 cm. It has a clearly visible elongated rostrum, from which it gets its name. Typically rusty red in color with dark spots. The lifespan does not exceed four months. Each female lays 350 eggs about three to four times a year.
Red palm weevil larva
Red palm weevil larva 
Red palm weevil larva in cocoon
An adult weevil hatches from a cocoon
Spanish biologists have sounded the alarm about the antics of a foreign beetle. The red weevil migrated from Polynesia to Catalonia in 2005 and managed to chew up 2,821 palm trees. Mexicans are also afraid of being left without date palms.
Palm treesdamagedpalm weevil.
The problems of Spanish environmentalists have weighed heavily on the budget of Catalonia. Back in 2007, experts warned the authorities about the appearance of a malicious pest on the peninsula - the red weevil Rhynchophorus ferrugineus. It feeds on the heartwood of palm trees and has managed to destroy 2,821 trees in Catalonia in just a few years. Politicians have calculated that the destruction (most often burning) of one palm tree infected with the beetle costs €500, but some trees have to spend up to €10 thousand, which is due to the characteristics of their root system and the surrounding area.
Environmentalists fear that because of the beetle, the Canarian date palm may simply disappear from the Western Mediterranean, writes the Catalan publication El Periodico.
The first case of weevil infection was registered in July 2005. Spanish scientists are confident that their pest comes from Southeast Asia and the Polynesian islands.
Earlier, panic over this beetle erupted in ministries Agriculture Cyprus and Malta. The authorities blamed construction firms that imported materials from Egypt and Israel for the introduction of the weevil.
Rhynchophorus ferrugineus appeared in French Corsica in 2006. The massive death of palm trees led the European Union to introduce strict restrictions on the import of palm trees.
In the UAE, dogs have been trained to fight weevils. They act “by the woodpecker method.” Shepherds and Labradors sniff out the pest and report it to people.
The disaster also reached the New World. Mexico City authorities have to cut down entire alleys to save the remaining palm trees and get rid of the harmful red weevil. According to the Mexican newspaper El Sol de San Luis, several years ago the government managed to stop the invasion of Rhynchophorus ferrugineus, but the beetle has again entered the country. Experts assure that it crossed the ocean in imported dates.
Joining forces to fight red palm weevil
29/03/2017
If global and coordinated action is not taken immediately, this palm trunk eating pest could wipe out many palm species and destroy the palm industry as a whole.
The red palm weevil is the most destructive and dangerous pest in the world. It affects date and coconut palms in Asia and the Middle East, as well as ornamental palms native to Europe and the Mediterranean countries.
Native to Southeast Asia, the pest has rapidly spread across the world over the past three decades through the Middle East and North Africa, reaching the shores of the United Kingdom last year.
It is found in many countries and causes enormous economic and social costs, including impacts on food security and the livelihoods of many communities.
One of the features of this problem is that the red palm weevil is an invisible killer. On early stages it is very difficult to detect, since there are few external signs that the tree is affected by this pest. Field crews must look for the tiny holes the insects make in the trunk or crown of each tree.
Lapses in quarantine procedures may also be responsible for the spread: this invasive pest moves from one country to another mainly through contaminated planting material.
The annual losses caused by the red palm weevil are estimated at millions of dollars. In Italy, Spain and France, economic losses associated with the weevil amounted to about 90 million euros by 2013.
Over the past 30 years, efforts have been made to combat this pest, but their results are not indisputable, largely due to the lack of a clear and well-coordinated strategy.
Date palms have been grown on Earth for more than 5 thousand years. They support the lives and livelihoods of people in hot regions with infertile soils and are a symbol of life, culture and civilization.
Dates are among the main agricultural crops; their cultivation helps to strengthen national economies and is an important source of income and food for rural communities.
If the pest is not stopped, the future of the entire industry will be at stake.
Eradication of the red palm weevil is possible. In May 2016, the Canary Islands became the first area in the world to eradicate the pest, first discovered there in 2005. One element of the solution to this problem was the development of a geographic information system to collect data on infested trees, allowing for more effective pest control efforts.
We must take advantage of these technologies and continue to work together to develop more advanced and impactful solutions.
Research is already underway to create natural spray pesticides and other plant protection products. There are other innovative solutions, such as special dog training that allows animals to smell the presence of invasive pests, as well as methods of detecting pests using thermal imaging and highly sensitive microphones that can pick up the sound made by a larva eating a tree from the inside. Following successful testing, researchers are working to create low-cost, easy-to-use listening devices with digital signal processing.
Stopping the spread of the red palm weevil also requires strong commitment by countries to comply with international controls on the cross-border movement of contaminated material. The fulfillment of our mission will be facilitated by the international exchange of information, knowledge and experience.
FAO is working with national authorities and communities to improve date palm production, including through improved water management and value addition through new harvesting, processing and packaging technologies.
From 29 to 31 March, FAO, together with the International Center for Advanced Agronomic Research in the Mediterranean (ICARM), is organizing a scientific consultation and high-level meeting on the control of red palm weevil (RPW). This scientific consultation will bring together representatives of regulatory authorities (National Plant Protection Organization) and experts from countries affected by the red palm weevil, international experts, developers of technologies related to the fight against CAP and other interested parties.
The expected outcome of these consultations is a clear, multidisciplinary, interregional program and strategy for the containment and control of the red palm weevil.
By joining forces, we can deal with and destroy this invisible killer.
We have no choice but to tell what to do about it. SCAPP continues to escalate the environmental situation in Sochi and talk about pests that can leave the resort with bare mountains, deserted streets and an Arboretum without palm trees or boxwood.
Story
It was 2012, the city of Sochi was being built, polished, cleaned, learned English - in a word, prepared for the Olympic Games. Thinking about what to do with landscaping Olympic Village in Imeretinka, it was decided to turn our attention to Italy and búxus sempervírens, in common parlance - evergreen boxwood. A little later, the first parcel arrived from Italy: several thousand planting material. Everyone exhaled joyfully - “one less problem,” and switched to other pre-Olympic concerns. In the meantime, September 2012 came, when employees of a nursery for temporary storage of planting material noticed some caterpillars eagerly eating the leaves of the imported boxwood. This is where the adventures of the boxwood moth in Sochi began.
Having received no opposition in the nursery, the fire butterfly began to spread throughout the world with amazing speed. Krasnodar region. Already in 2013, the moth was discovered in Krasnodar, Novorossiysk, Gelendzhik and natural monuments of Sochi: Sochi was infected national park and the Caucasian Biosphere Reserve. No one could adequately respond to the pests: ordinary chemistry did not work on insects, the mechanical method of destruction is ineffective, plus the caterpillars have no natural enemies, since no one wants to touch them because of the poisonous alkaloids. Add to this the priority Olympic Games and the then seeming insignificance of the problem - perfect recipe for reproduction.
In 2014, the moth began to eat Krasnodar, Abkhazia, the cities of the Black Sea coast, and the Arboretum. When the scale of the caterpillar feast began to stun the imagination, the government and city administrations woke up, openly declaring that the problem exists, that it is being solved - in general, wait, we will come up with something. While we were waiting, a variety of planting material continued to be delivered to Sochi: palm trees, boxwood, eucalyptus and other exotics. For landscaping, of course. Tourists arrived from Italy along with the palm trees. No, but the red palm weevil, eucalyptus chalcid, palm moth, ophelimus maskela, eucalyptus psyllid, acisia, eucalyptus psyllid, Ohrid miner - only about 20 insect pests new to our area that are #right now gnawing on yet another palm/boxwood/eucalyptus/chestnut tree /maple/mimosa or your favorite vineyard.
Use chemicals!
According to the chairman of the Sochi Environmental Council, Vladimir Ostapuk, in Sochi there is no inspection service for imported plants, so every new tree from abroad is a game of Russian roulette. But now this is not the most important thing. What to do with those who have already been brought? That's right - destroy it. How? Poison them with chemicals! Yes, great solution. This is what the city administration did within the city center. The boxwood was sprayed - the boxwood was saved. And on the territory of Sochi national park(Arboretum) and the Caucasian Biosphere Reserve (Yew-Boxwood Grove) do not do this due to the laws of the Russian Federation, which prohibit the use of chemicals within protected areas. Accordingly, urban boxwoods are saved for the time being, since hungry caterpillars will again and again look for new sources of food. But by focusing on the moth problem, we are doing the same thing as the Ministry of Natural Resources in 2012: we are not noticing even more dangerous pests.
The red palm weevil and palm borer do not like boxwood, they prefer palm trees. Yes, palm trees, idolized by tourists and distinguishing Sochi from other Black Sea resorts in Russia. In order to understand the danger of the weevil beetle, we find out how it develops. The female beetle lays 200-300 eggs on the top of the palm tree. A week later, hungry larvae appear, which make their way inside the trunk and begin to eat the core of the palm tree, thereby destroying its growth point. While the larvae eat the palm tree from the inside, everything remains unchanged on the outside: the tree blooms and smells. And after about 6-12 months, the palm tree suddenly crumbles, dries out and dies. At the same time, it is very difficult to determine the presence of pests in a seemingly healthy palm tree: you need a stethoscope or a specially trained dog. Dogs need to be discharged from Spain, and no one wants to bother with a stethoscope, so weevils are actively colonizing new territories: there are already infected palm trees in the Imereti Lowland, Adlersky and Khostinsky districts of the city.
What to do?
Even the Ministry of Nature does not have a definite answer. So far they are only proposing, discussing and considering. They propose to launch Chinese wasps, which feed on moths in laboratory conditions, ask the Prosecutor General's Office and are considering a proposal to introduce a state of emergency, and thereby approve the use of chemicals on the territory of nature reserves. It seems that the bureaucratic machine is spinning, but this is not making the boxwood and palm trees any better. Only 10% of the Sochi boxwood remains, the natural monument Yew-boxwood grove has died out, palm trees and eucalyptus are in a high-risk zone, the starving moth has begun to feed on maple, ash, blackberries and other types of plants, the Chinese wasp, after a possible victory over the boxwood moth, may become a new pest of the city, and chemicals can harm the flora and fauna of nature reserves - the urban landscape and natural attractions of the city are in a pre-apocalyptic state. And no one has the only the right decision. But we know for sure that this year we will still be able to admire our exotics and palm trees, but perhaps last time in life. We are not pushing, but simply citing the opinion of ecologists who say that this year will be decisive for the nature of Sochi: “Either we are them, or they are us.”
