Rhynchophorus cruentatus

TaxID: 166899

Basic Information

Rhynchophorus cruentatus

Palmetto Weevil, sabal weevil

The palmetto weevil (Rhynchophorus cruentatus) is an insect native to Florida, but has been found as far as southern Texas to the west and South Carolina to the north. It is the largest weevil in North America and the only kind of palm weevil in the continental United States. It infests palms and is considered a pest. Its main target is the Canary Island date palm, but date palms (a different species than the Canary Island date palm), sabal palms (the palmetto weevil's traditional target), saw palmetto (the palmetto weevil's traditional alternative target), Washingtonia, Pritchardia, royal palms, Latania, coconut palms, Caryota, and Bismarckia are also susceptible. Distressed palm trees are usually attacked, which makes transplanted trees a frequent target. The Palmetto Weevils mate at the base of the palm branches where the females deposit their eggs. The grubs then eat into the palm tree, killing it. After the larvae have turned into adult weevils, the damage can be seen, but by then, it is considered to be too late for the tree. The life cycle from egg to adult for a palmetto weevil is about 84 days. For prevention, it is recommended an appropriate insecticidal crown drench is done twice a year for high value palms. Grubs of other species of palm weevils are considered a delicacy in countries outside the United States. Palmetto weevil are most active in late spring and early summer.

from Wikipedia

Taxonomic Information

Metazoa

Arthropoda

Insecta

Coleoptera

Curculionidae

Rhynchophorus

cruentatus

unclassified

Photos (5 photos)

Rhynchophorus cruentatus
c
(c) gregbrandriet@BY-NC
Rhynchophorus cruentatus
c
(c) evieninelives@BY-NC
Rhynchophorus cruentatus
c
(c) keszia@BY-NC
Rhynchophorus cruentatus
c
(c) Janson Jones@BY-NC
Rhynchophorus cruentatus
c
(c) Joshua Doby@BY-NC

Morphological Features

No morphological description available.

Host Plants (0 host plants)

Data sources: EPPO Global Database and relevant literature.

No host plants available.

Quarantine Status (2 records)

Data sources: IPPC website and national quarantine websites; verified by human review.

Country Status Year Added
Sri Lanka Quarantine pests —
Paraguay Quarantine pests —

Distribution (3 countries)

Data Sources: EPPO Global Database and GBIF.

3
Present
0
Absent
0
Unknown/Other
Country Status State
Greece Present —
Mexico Present —
United States of America Present —

Distribution Map (Latitude and longitude coordinates sourced from GBIF.)

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Genomes (0 records)

Data source: NCBI.

No genome records available.

Transcriptomes (0 records)

Data source: NCBI.

No transcriptome records available.

DNA Barcodes (0 records)

View all

Data source: BOLD.

No DNA barcode records available.

Literature