Red palm weevil (κόκκινο σκαθάρι των φοινικοειδών)

Description:

The red palm weevil, Rhynchophorus ferrugineus, is a species of snout beetle also known as the Asian palm weevil or sago palm weevil. The adult beetles are relatively large, ranging between two and five centimeters long, and are usually a rusty red colour - but many colour variants exist and have often been misidentified as different species . Weevil larvae can excavate holes in the trunk of a palm trees up to a metre long, thereby weakening and eventually killing the host plant. As a result, the weevil is considered a major pest in palm plantations, including the coconut palm, date palm and oil palm. This beetle and cocoon were spotted near the Volos city ring road, after an infected palm (Phoenix canariensis) was cut down and the owner of the tree had aplied insecticide in the trunk, to prevent the insects of hatching and infestisize more trees.