About Rhynchophorus palmarum (C.Linnaeus, 1758)
Rhynchophorus palmarum, commonly known as the South American palm weevil, is a species of snout beetle. Adult South American palm weevils are relatively large black beetles, reaching approximately one and a half inches in length, while their larvae can grow up to two inches long. This weevil’s native range covers most of South America, stretching from Argentina north to Paraguay, and continuing north through South and Central America to central Mexico and the Caribbean, including confirmed presence on Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent, the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago, with possible presence in Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico. Recent discoveries of this weevil in Arizona and Texas do not appear to indicate established populations there. As of 2010, more western populations are established in Tijuana, Mexico and San Diego County, California (specifically San Ysidro, Bonita, and Spring Valley), where they cause serious damage.
