• Source: Rhynchophorus palmarum

The South American palm weevil, Rhynchophorus palmarum, is a species of snout beetle. The adults are relatively large black beetles of approximately one and a half inch in length, and the larvae may grow to two inches in length.




Biology and behavior


These insects are attracted to the release of volatile compounds produced by injured palm trees. The larvae burrow through the hearts of palms, and their feeding can potentially kill an infested palm or serve as an avenue for secondary infections of bacterial disease. It is considered an important pest of cultivated coconut, date and oil palms, attacking thirty-five different species in twelve different families. It has also been documented as an occasional pest of sugar cane. This insect serves as vector for the Bursaphelenchus cocophilus nematode — the cause of red ring disease in coconuts, oilpalm, and dates. R. palmarum carries the disease in the form of dauer larvae, a survival form. By the time one observes symptoms, the palm is usually already dead. Weevils are infected while feeding as adults or larvae, but only female weevils carry a large internal infestation around their oviducts and are capable of transmitting the nematode during oviposition. Females are capable of laying as many as 693 eggs. Eggs will hatch in three to five days, and spend seven to eight weeks as larvae, feeding on the heart of the palm. They will emerge from the heart of the palm to pupate in a cocoon woven from palm fibers either in the boot of palm-leaf petioles, or in leaf debris at the base of the palm. Pupation can take from one to three weeks. Adults will live from five to eight weeks.




= Host plants

=
Cocos nucifera coconut
Phoenix dactylifera Date Palm
Elaeis guineensis African Oil Palm
Euterpe edulis Assai Palm
Metroxylon sagu Sago Palm
Phoenix canariensis Canary Island Date Palm
Mauritia flexuosa Moriche Palm
Bactris gasipaes Peach Palm
Oenocarpus bataua




= Secondary hosts

=
sugarcane
banana
Cacao
custard apple
breadfruit
papaya
citrus
mango
avocado
guava




Distribution


The weevil's native range extends across much of South America from Argentina to Paraguay and north through South and Central America to central Mexico and the Caribbean (Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent, Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and perhaps Cuba, Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico). Recent finds in Arizona and Texas do not seem to reflect established populations, but more western populations are established (as of 2010) in Tijuana, Mexico and San Diego County, California (San Ysidro, Bonita, and Spring Valley) and causing serious damage.




Cuisine



The larvae have been consumed for centuries as food by native South American populations as a source of protein, minerals, and vitamins A and E. These beetles and their larvae are known by many common names in South America: cucarrón, cigarrón, casanga, suri (Peru), chontacuro (Ecuador), gualpa (Colombia), mojojoi, mojomoi, mojotoi, mukint, mujin. and are used in traditional medicine for the treatment of cough, asthma and other respiratory ailments.




Notes






References






= Citations

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= Bibliography

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External links


USDA information site for the weevil Archived 2012-07-02 at the Wayback Machine
University of Florida fact sheet for the nematode

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Bumitama Agri
• Elaeis guineensis
• Dampak sosial dan lingkungan dari minyak sawit
• Rhynchophorus palmarum
• Rhynchophorus
• R. palmarum
• Elaeis guineensis
• Oenocarpus bataua
• Mojojoy
• Bursaphelenchus cocophilus
• Palm oil
• Social and environmental impact of palm oil
• Palm oil production in Malaysia