ARS | Publication request: Red Palm Weevil (Rhynchophorus ferrugineus), an invasive pest recently found in the Caribbean that threatens the region

Submitted to: European Plant Protection Organization Bulletin
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: April 6, 2011
Publication Date: July 21, 2011
Citation: Roda, A., Kairo, M., Damian, T., Franken, F., Heidweiller, K., Johanns, C., Mankin, R.W. 2011. Red Palm Weevil (Rhynchophorus ferrugineus), an invasive pest recently found in the Caribbean that threatens the region. European Plant Protection Organization Bulletin. 41:116-121.

Interpretive Summary: The red palm weevil is an important pest in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, and it is important to keep this pest from entering South and North America. Scientists at the USDA-ARS Center for Medical, Agricultural, and Veterinary Entomology, Gainesville, Florida, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Miami, FL, Florida A&M University, Tallahassee, FL, the Department of Agriculture in Curacao, and the Department of Agriculture in Aruba cooperated in a study to develop methods to monitor and eradicate a recently invasive red palm weevil pest. These islands are small enough that an eradication program is feasible with the help of the departments of agriculture on the islands.

Technical Abstract: Rhynchophorus ferrugineus, an important palm pest, was accidentally introduced into the Caribbean. A monitoring program was established to determine the population and distribution of infestations on Aruba and Curacao through the use of commercially available pheromone traps. Due to the small size of the islands and limited distribution of palms, eradication may be feasible using a combination of trapping, timely disposal of infested palms and curative and prophylactic chemical treatments. The results of the monitoring studies were used to frame a USDA plant health emergency response through the development of Animal Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine New Pest Response Guidelines for Aruba and Curacao, and provide an effective protocol for other Caribbean Islands.