Red Palm Weevil Training Video

[martin]

Here in southern Portugal we have in the last 18 months seen the arrival of the red palm weevil with devastating results, the weevils have now got themselves to the island of Madeira and even the Azores due to shipment of infected palms

local video production company have now produced the first part of a training film, secon part soon

see here

http://www.hipalgarve.net/shows/palmeirascap1.html

[Kris]

Dear Martin

Nice report !

Thanks & Love,

kris.

[martin]

thanks for your message

[John in Andalucia]

I recently killed 3 RPW. Very slow moving thanks to the cooler weather. Last May I caught 14 of them on a Washingtonia. This is definitely the time to be vigilant!

[martin]

I have just caught 20 in a trap in the last month, like you in spain here in portugal all been quiet over the winter but now the weevil attack season begins

[Kris]

Dear martin

I live in south india,and i have one small CIDP growing in the ground,here our climate is hot wet year around.with temperatures ranging from 82 to 104 degress farenheat on average.No cold or frost.

i.e my zone could be considered almost zone 11.

How are my chances with the CIDP,will this too get killed by Weevil Attack ? In years to come ! Since till this day i have never came across any palm being attacked by weevil as seen in your video...

Here is a still of our CIDP which is about 3 years old..

Thanks & Love,

kris

[martin]

not really sure how to answer you, perhaps wiser minds can advise?

[John in Andalucia]

Kris,

The Rhynchophorus ferrugineus weevil originates from North Africa; notably Tunisia, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. It is not a migratory insect as far as I know. It was first detected in my town, Motril and neighbouring towns, thanks mainly to the ignorance of town hall officials who imported large numbers of CIDP at the start of the 1990's without conducting phytosanitary inspections. (The mayor of one town along our coast is well-known for his corrupt dealings, which eventually saw him land in jail.) How the RPW travelled around Europe, I don't know. Perhaps through the subsequent shipment of palms by road? You can move healthy trees, but like illegal immigrants, the weevils can easily hitch a ride on the back of a lorry. Because of these imported palms, Europe now hosts RPW. I don't think you will have problems in India. At least, I hope not.

[Lowey]

What sort of traps do you use ???

[John in Andalucia]

What sort of traps do you use ???

Bruce, I've only ever caught them on sight. They're very slow movers. When it's more than one, I flick them off the tree into a jar containing a half inch of undiluted insecticide. Lid on, shake the jar and they're dead within a minute or two. On a larger scale, food-baited pheromone traps are said to be the most effective.

Kris,

I since found out that RPW is very much active in India, so be vigilant:

"The red palm weevil (RPW), Rhynchophorus ferrugineus Oliv.,

(RPW) (Curculionidae: Coleoptera), is an economically important, tissueboring

pest of date palm in many parts of the world. The insect was first

described in India as a serious pest of coconut palm (Lefroy, 1906) and later

on date palm (Madan Mohan Lal, 1917; Buxton, 1918). The weevil was

recorder later in Seri Lanka, Indonesia, Burma, Punjab, and Pakistan

(Laskshmanan, 1972). Currently, the insect is a major pest of date palm in

some of the Arabian Gulf States including Saudi Arabia, United Arab

Emirates, Sultanate of Oman, and Egypt (Cox, 1993; Abraham et al. 1998)."

[martin]

I use a trap made in spain which is sited 50 meters from the palm (this is vital!!) it is a bucket with netting which the weevil climbs up and then falls into the enclosed space filled with water ...they take days to drown. They are attracted by a two pouchs of chemicals which last 3 months..as of today since the "flying season" started I have caught 20

[Kris]

Dear John

Thanks for all the info and your time.But what i realise that its time that CIDP reserves are created in remote islands,with new CIDP's planted,all raised from seeds.I think most of the 100 to 150 years old onces needs their young ones propogated in distinct lands...And iam glad that i have planted at least one now in our garden in chennai.And i have done my part in distributing these saplings here aggressively.

Lots of love,

kris

[Kris]

.

[Kris]

http://www.youtube.c...feature=related

.

[mlovecan]

Hi Kris, from what I've read, the palm weevil actually comes from India. However, in India has a natural predator - some flightless bird - so therfore you have very little to worry about. There are no natural predators outside of India - we now have them everywhere. The traps I use are a simple bucket that has a funnel shaped lid. They are attracted to the pheromone bait and, once inside, they can't escape and starve to death. I have been catching 15 or 20 per week since november. I expected that to slow down during our coldest time but it didn't.

[John in Andalucia]

You're doing an admirable job over there, Maurice. That is an awful lot of weevils!

[Kris]

Dear Maurice

Thanks for the information,but can you tell me the name of that flightless predator bird.I want to grow few in our house just as a precautionary measure...And all i see here in india are hen,peacocks & crow.And crows are in plenty in south india !

I think that this is the method you use to catch these Weevil ?

Lots of love,

kris

[mlovecan]

I'm sure the pharamone would be simular to what I use. The trap design on Youtube is much more slick than mine. In mine, you would think they maybe could escape. But they can't. They are slow and unstable flyers and I think they lack the level of control to fly up through the hole they just entered.

[Kris]

I'm sure the pharamone would be simular to what I use. The trap design on Youtube is much more slick than mine. In mine, you would think they maybe could escape. But they can't. They are slow and unstable flyers and I think they lack the level of control to fly up through the hole they just entered.

Thanks for the information,and if you have any stills or video clips of your work,kindly share with us.

Lots of love,

kris

[mlovecan]

Hi Kris,

Here is what the traps I use look like. The little plastic thing on the string has the pharamones inside. I get my gardener to replace them every 6 weeks ( instead of the recommended 10 ) My gardener has some old ones in his car and the weevils are quite attracted to his car also.

[Kris]

Dear Maurice

Thanks very much for the visual,And if time permitts can you take stills of your CIDP..Since actually iam in love with this variety of phoenix palm ! So curious to see your Cidp palms...

And here is a new video link !

Lots of love,

kris

[mlovecan]

While cleaning old leaf bases from my CIDP x Rhoeb, I found a bore hole - quite possibly from the Palm Weevil's companion - the Rhino Beetle. Dead and live Weevils, as usual were everywhere including the base where the hole was. Not convinced I have an infestation now, I took no chances.

I picked these injectors up and am injecting a systemic that kills RPW at all stages of life.

[Kris]

I very happy to know you have taken all the precautions,But i have question to you..that is having peirced holes into the palm using those needles want it weaken the palm in any way ? And kindly keep us updated as this palm grows.

Thanks & Love,

kris

[mlovecan]

Actually Kris, the injecters have plastic ends on them that screw into about a 1/4 inch hole! It may seem radical but this treatment has quite a high-rate of success in prevention as well as curing the palm of RPW. When you look into the top of a once-beautiful CIDP that has been reduced to a large oozing trunk of larvae and slime, you realize two 1/4 inch holes are nothing! These large oozing crownless CIDP trunks are all over my island and the number of weevils in my garden is ever-increasing.

[Kris]

Thanks for the information !