page_title: Rhynchophorus ferrugineus
section_title: Behaviour
hierarchical_section_title: Rhynchophorus ferrugineus / Behaviour
caption_attribution_description: Српски / srpski: Lečena feniks palma (Phoenix canariensis) koja se oporavlja posle napada crvenog palminog surlaša (Rhynchophorus ferrugineus) Српски / srpski: Treated phoenix palm (Phoenix canariensis), which is recovering after being attacked by the red palm weevil (Rhynchophorus ferrugineus)
context_page_description: The palm weevil Rhynchophorus ferrugineus is one of two species of snout beetle known as the red palm weevil, Asian palm weevil or sago palm weevil. The adult beetles are relatively large, ranging between two and four centimeters long, and are usually a rusty red colour—but many colour variants exist and have often been classified as different species. Weevil larvae can excavate holes in the trunk of a palm trees up to a metre long, thereby weakening and eventually killing the host plant. As a result, the weevil is considered a major pest in palm plantations, including the coconut palm, date palm and oil palm.
  Originally from tropical Asia, the red palm weevil has spread to Africa and Europe, reaching the Mediterranean in the 1980s. It was first recorded in Spain in 1994, and in France in 2006. Additional infestations have been located in Malta, Italy, Croatia and Montenegro. It is also well established throughout most of Portugal, especially in the South. It also has established in Morocco, Tunisia, and other North African countries. The weevil was first reported in the Americas on Curaçao in January 2009 and sighted the same year in Aruba.
context_section_description: The behaviour and bionomics of the red palm weevil have been investigated in the field . The biology and life history of the weevil have been investigated on five diets, including banana, sugarcane, squash fruit, apple, and palm crown. The rate of development showed great variation depending on the host used. Developmental time was shortest on palm crown, followed by banana, and then squash fruit and apple, and longest on sugarcane. Egg production was the highest on palm crown, being 338 ± 37.24 eggs/female followed by banana, squash fruit, and apple, and the lowest (117. ± 18.9 eggs/female) on sugarcane.
  Studies show that this insect is attracted by ethyl acetate, 2-methoxy.4.vinylphenol, gamma-nonanoic lactone, 4SSS-ferrugineol, 50H and 4me-9-5Kt.
caption: Treated phoenix palm, which is recovering after being attacked by the red palm weevil
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