Rhynchophorus ferrugineus – the Red Palm Weevil

Big palm trees, imported from Spain and originating from Asia and Africa beautify golf courses, municipal areas, and give private homes an instant Mediterranean look. But they also carry a lethal freight: Rhynchophorus ferrugineus – the Red Palm Weevil.

Damages and losses of palm trees were first reported from Spain in 1994; since then the Weevil has spread, flying or being carried inside an infected palm tree, and has been doing its devastating work in Italy, on the Canary Islands, in France, and now, since last autumn, also in the Algarve.