Rhynchophorus palmarum (Linnaeus, 1758)

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South American palm weevil, Rhynchophorus palmarum (Linnaeus, 1758) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) is distributed through the Americas. It has several common names as well as the American palm weevil. This species is a notorious pest of palm and coconut throughout its zone of distribution (Oehlschlager et al., 2002); however, larvae are also known to be harvested and used as food (Cerda et al., 2001). Adults can measure several centimeters in length. Adults live one to two months, while development from egg to adult needs approximately four months (Sánchez et al., 1993).

References

  • Cerda, H., Martinez, R., Briceno, N., Pizzoferrato, L., Manzi, P., Ponzetta, M.T., Marin, O. and Paoletti, M., 2001. Palm worm:(Rhynchophorus palmarum) traditional food in Amazonas, Venezuela - nutritional composition, small scale production and tourist palatability. Ecology of food and nutrition 40: 13–32.
  • Oehlschlager, A.C., Chinchilla, C., Castillo, G. and Gonzalez, L., 2002. Control of red ring disease by mass trapping of Rhynchophorus palmarum (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). Florida Entomologist 85: 507–513.
  • Sánchez, P., Jaffe, K., Hernandez, J. and Cerda, H., 1993. Biology and behaviour of the coconut weevil Rhynchophorus palmarum L.(Coleoptera: Curculionidae). Boletín de Entomología Venezolana 8: 83–93.
 
 

Classification

Rhynchophorus palmarum
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Arthropoda
Class Insecta
Order Coleoptera
Family Curculionidae
Genus Rhynchophorus
Species R. palmarum
   
Author citation (Linnaeus, 1758)
Common name south american palm weevil